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THE 



Voyages and Travels 



OF 



/ 



SIR JOHN MAUXDEVILLE, K* 




NEW YORK: 

GEORGE MUNRO, PUBLISHER 
17 to 27 Vande-water Street. 



\ 



6 



INTRODUCTION. 



Sir John Maundeville was born at St. Albans in the beginning 
of the fourteenth century, and set out on his travels on Michaelmas- 
day, 1322. How many places he says that he visited, during an 
absence from home of more than thirty yearSj the book will tell. 
Rheumatic gout at last obliged him to return and rest. On his way 
home he showed to the Pope what he had written, in Latin, about 
the marvels and customs he had seen. Then,, we are told, he turned 
his Latin book into French, and then again, in 1356, into English. 

Modern criticism has made it clear that the original text was 
French, and only French. In the days of Maundeville Latin, 
French, and English were the three languages written in this 
country; Latin was then and long afterward the common language 
of the educated, and it united them into a European Republic of 
Letters; French was the courtly language; English was the language 
of the people. John -Grower, the poet, Maundeville's contemporary, 
rested his fame upon three books, one in Latin, one ia French, and 
one in English. The use, therefore, of French does not prove 
Maundeville a Frenchman. The writer says in the original French 
version that he should have written it in Latin, but had written it in 
French, "jeo usse mis teste liverette en latyn . . . mes . . 
jeo Vai mys en romanz," which is mistranslated into the statement 
that he had written it in Latin; with the addition made by the En- 
glish translator that assigns the English version to the hand of 
Maundeville himself. As in several places the French is mistrans- 
lated into English in a way that would have been impossible if 
Maundeville had been his own interpreter, and the same is true of 
the Latin, the most we can believe is that Maundeville wrote in 
French, and claim? d as his own the other translations because he 
had caused them to be made for him. He could not have done 
without a Latin version if he meant to submit the book to the Pope; 
and he might naturally wish, when he came home, that his book 
should be read— as it became widely read— also in English. The 



VI INTRODUCTION. 

oldest remaining manuscript of the book in French is dated 1371, 
and the oldest known MSS. of the English version can not be placed 
very much later. They belong, at latest, to the first quarter of the 
fifteenth century. 

The book was planned as a guide to pilgrims to the Holy Places 
at Jerusalem, but, for the purpose of including as full an account 
of travel as could be given, roundabout ways to Jerusalem were 
conceived, as well as the direct way. Maundeville told facts as 
matter of knowledge, marvels and miracles as matter of hearsay or 
of faith. He said that he and his men served the Suit an of Babylon 
in war against the Bedouins, and had from him letters that gave ad- 
mission to the least accessible of the Holy Places. He said also that 
for fifteen months he and his men served the great Khan in China. 
What he tells of Cathay and India corresponds very closely with 
what is to be found in the record of Friar Odoric of Pordenone, the 
story of whose travels in Western India and Northern China was 
set down in Latin just before the time of the friar's dealh in 1331 
Maundeville 's record of adventure in the Perilous V alley is, for ex 
ample, borrowed from Odoric; but Maundeville's account suggests 
traveling companionship in that adventure with " two worthy men, 
friars of Lombardy." Possibly, the purpose of the book being to 
tell as much as possible of travel in the world as it then was, in the 
form of personal adventure, contributions of good matter from the 
books of other travelers were, for this reason, interwoven in the 
story of one who had traveled much himself. In whatever way he 
did it, Maundeville produced what became the most popular book of 
travel for some generations after his own time. Of no other such 
book, Mr. Halliwell ventured to say, "Of no book, with the excep- 
tion of jLhe Scriptures," can more MSS. be found of the end of the 
fourteenth and beginning of the fifteenth century. It may well be 
that his -travelers' tales were more widely enjoyed than believed. 
But travelers see strange things, and have often been credited with 
readiness to tell more strange things than they see. 

The text -as here given, in modern spelling, is taken,, with per- 
mission of Messrs. George Bell & Sons, from a volume of " Early 
Travels in Palestine," in " Bohn's Antiquarian Library." Thai vol- 
ume includes also "Wilibald," Ssewulf," "Benjamin of Tudela," 
V La Brocquiere," and " Maundrell." Here let me take occasion to 
say that the " Libraries," of which Henry G. Bohn began the issue 
forty years ago, remain a monument of well-directed zeal for cheap 
diffusion of true literature. The first of the volumes of "Bohn's 
Standard Library " — each giving about five hundred pages for 



IXTROx^xTIOX. yii 

three-and-sixpence, in a substantial, well-pnixwa book— appeared 
on the 1st of February, 1846. Books less directly adclre^L, ^ t , 
general reader, and illustrated books, were gathered at a sligm^ 
higher price into companion "Libraries" — "Antiquarian," "Ec- 
clesiastical," "Historical," "Classical," "Philological and Philo- 
sophical," " Scientific," " Illustrated " — and an important body of 
cheap literature was produced, for which every living worker in 
this country who draws strength from the past has reason to be 
grateful. In all Bonn's hundreds there is not a worthless book. 
We who come after him pay honor to the sturdy pioneer. 

H. M. 



THE PROLOGUE. 



Forasmuch as the land beyond the sea, that is to say, the Holy 
Land, which men call the land of promise or of behest, passing all 
other lands, is the most worthy land, most excellent, and lady and 
sovereign of all other lands, and is blessed and hallowed with the 
precious body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ; in the which 
land it pleased him to take flesh and blood of the Virgin Mary, to 
environ that holy land with his blessed feet; and there he would of 
his blessedness shadow him in the said blessed and glorious Virgin 
Mar}', and become man, and work many miracles, and preach and 
teach the faith and the law of Christian men unto his children; and 
there it pleased him to suffer many reprovings and scorns for us; 
and he that was king of heaven, of air, of earth, of sea, and of all 
things that are contained in them, would only be called king of that 
land, when he said, " Bex sum Judeovum,'" that is to say, I am king 
of the Jews; and that land he chose before all other lands, as the 
best and most worthy land, and the most virtuous land of all the 
world; for it is the heart and the middle of all the world; by wit- 
ness of the philosopher, who saith thus, " Virtus rerum in medio 
cormstit;" that is to say, " The virtue of things is in the middle;" 
and in that land he would lead his life, and suffer passion and death 
from the Jews for us, to redeem and deliver us from the pains of 
hell, and from death without end, which was ordained for us for 
the sin of our first father Adam, and for our own sins also; for, as 
for himself, he had deserved no evil; for he thought never evil nor 
did evil, and he that was king of glory and of joy might best in 
that place suffer death, because he chose in that land, rather than in 
any other, to suffer his passion and his death; for he that will pub- 
lish anything to make it openly known, he will cause it to be cried 
and proclaimed in the middle place of a town; so that the thing 
that is proclaimed and pronounced may equally reach to all parts : 
right so, he that was creator of all the world would suffer for us at 
Jerusalem, thai is the middle of the world, lo the end and intent 



THE PROLOGUE. IX 

that his passion and his death, which was published there, might be 
known equally to all parts of the world. 

See, now, how dearly he bought man, that he made after his own 
image, and how dearly he redeemed us for the great love that he 
had to us, and never deserved it of him. For more precious goods 
or greater ransom might he not put us, than his blessed body, his 
precious blood, and his holy life, which he inthralled for us; and 
he offered all for us, that never did sin. Oh! dear God! what love 
had he to us his subjects, when he that never trespassed would for 
trespassers suffer death I Right well ought we to love and worship, 
to dread and serve such a Lord, and to worship and praise such a 
holy land, that brought forth such fruit, through which every man 
is saved, unless it be his own fault. Well may that land be called 
delectable and a fruitful land, that was made moist with the precious 
blood of our Lord Jesus Christ ; which is the same land that our 
Lord promised us in heritage. And in that land he would die, as 
seized, to leave it to us, his children. 

Wherefore every good Christian man, that is of power, and hath 
whereof, should labor with all his strength to conquer our right 
heritage, and drive out all the unbelieving men. For we are called. 
Christian men, after Christ our father. And if we be right children 
of Christ, we ought to claim the heritage that our father left us, and 
take it out of heathen men's hands. But now pride, covetousness, 
and envy have so inflamed the hearts of worldly lords, that they are 
busier to disinherit their neighbors than to claim or conquer their 
right heritage aforesaid. And the common people, that would put 
their bodies and their goods to conquer our heritage, may not do it 
without the lords. For an assembly of people without a chieftain, 
or a chief lord, is as a flock of sheep without a shepherd; the 
which departeth and disperseth, and know neyer whither to go. 
But would God that the temporal lords and all worldly lords were 
at good accord, and with the common people would take this holy 
voyage over the sea! Then I believe, confidently, that, within a 
little time, our right heritage aforesaid should be recovered, and put 
in the hands of the right heirs of Jesus Christ. 

And forasmuch as it is long time passed that there was no general 
passage or voyage over the sea, and many men desiring to hear 
speak of the Holy Land, and have thereof great solace and comfort, 
I, John Maundeville, knight, albeit I be not worthy, who was born 
in England, in the town of Saint Albans, passed the sea in the year 
of our Lord Jesus Christ 1322, on the day of St. Michael; and 
hitherto have been a long time over the sea, and have seen and gone 



X THE PROLOGUE. 

through many divers lands, and many provinces, and kingdoms, 
and isles, and have passed through Tartarj r , Persia, Ermony 
(Armenia) the Little and the Great; through Lybia, Chaldea, and 
a great pait of Ethiopia; through Amazonia, India the Less and the 
Greater, a great part; and throughout many other isles that are 
about India; where dwell many divers folks, and of divers manners 
and laws, and of divers shapes of men. Of which lands and isles I 
shall speak more plainly hereafter. And I shall devise you some 
part of things that are there, when time shall be as it may best come 
to my mind; and especially for them that will and are in purpose to 
visit the holy city of Jerusalem, and the holy places that are there 
about. And* I shall tell the way that they shall hold thither; for I 
have ofttimes passed and ridden the way, with good company of 
many lords: God be thanked! 

And ye shall understand that I have put this book out of Latin 
into French, and translated it again out of French into English, 
that every man of my nation may understand it; and that lords and 
knights and other noble and worthy men that know Latin but little, 
and have been beyond the sea, may know and understand, if I err 
from defect of memory, and may redress it and amend it.. For 
things passed out of long time from a man's mind or from his sight 
turn soon into forgetting; because a man's mind may not be com- 
prehended or withheld, on account of the frailty of mankind, 



THE VOYAGES AND TRAVELS 

OF 

Sir John Maundeville, Kt. 



CHAPTER I. 

TO TEACH YOU THE WAY OUT OP ENGLAND TO CONSTANTINOPLE. 

In the name of God, glorious and Almighty. He that will pass 
over the sea to go to the city of Jerusalem may go many ways, both 
by sea and land, according to the country that he cometh from: 
many ways come to one end. But you must not expect that I will 
tell you all the towns, and cities, and castles, that men shall' go by; 
for then I should make too long a tale; but only some countries and 
the principal places that men shall go through to go the right way. 

First, if a man come from the west side of the world, as England, 
Ireland, Wales, Scotland, or Norway, he may, if he will, go through 
Almaine (Germany), and through the kingdom of Hungary, which 
borders on the land of Polaine (Poland), and to the land of Pan- 
nonia, and so to Silesia. And the king of Hungary is a great and 
mighty lord, and possesses, great lordships and much land, For he 
holds the kingdom of Hungary, Sclavonia, and a great part of 
Comania and Bulgaria, which men call the land of Bougres, and 
the realm of Russia a great part, whereof he hath made a duchy, 
that extendeth unto the land of Nyflan, and borders on Prussia. 
And we go through the land of this lord, through a city that is 
called Cypron, and by the castle of Xeaseborough, and by the evil 
town, which is situated toward the end of Hungary. 

And there men pass the river Danube, which is a very great river, 
and it goeth into Almaine, under the hills of Lombardy; and it re- 
ceives forty other rivers, and runs through Hungary and through 
Greece, and through Thrace, and entereth into the sea, toward the 



12 THE YOYAGES A!ND TKAVELS 

east, so roughly and so sharply, that the water of the sea is fresh 
and keeps its sweetness twenty miles from shore. 

And after, men go to Belgrave, and enter the land of Bougres; 
and there men pass a bridge of stone, which is upon the river Mar 
rok And men pass through the land of Pyncemartz, and come to 
Greece to the city of Nye, and to the city of Fynepape, and after 
to the city of Adrianople, and then to Constantinople, which was 
formerly called Byzantium, where the Emperor of Greece usually 
dwells 

And there is the fairest and noblest church in the world, that of 
St. Sophia= And before the church is the image of the Emperor 
Justinian, covered with gold, and he sits crowned upon a horse, 
and he formerly held a round apple of gold in his hand, but it is 
fallen down; and they say there, that it is a token that the emperor 
hath lost a great part of his lands and lordships. For he was Em 
peror of Romania and of Greece, of all Asia the Less, and of the 
land of Syria, of the land of Judea, in which is Jerusalem, and of 
the land of Egypt, of Persia, and of Arabia, but he hath lost all but 
Greece; and men would many times restore the apple to the hand of 
the image, but it will not hold it. The apple betokens the lordship 
which he had over all the world, which is round; and the other 
hand he lifts up toward the east, in token to menace the misdoers. 
This image stands upon a pillar of marble at Constantinople. 



CHAPTER II. 

OF THE CROSS AND CROWN OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 

At Constantinople is the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, and his 
coat without seams, and the sponge and the reed with which the 
Jews gave our Lord vinegar and gall on the cross; and there is one 
of the nails with which Christ was nailed on the cross. And some 
men believe that half the cross of our Lord is in Cyprus, in an 
abbey of monks called the Hill of the Holy Cross. But it is not so; 
for the cross which is in Cyprus is that on which Dismas, the good 
thief, was crucified. 

But all men know not that, and it is an evil act; because, for 
profit of the offering, they say that it is the cross of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. And you shall understand that the cross of our Lord was 
made of four kinds of trees, as is contained in this verse — 

" In cruce fit palma, cedrus, cypressus, oliva." 



OF SIR JOHN MAUKDEVILLE, KT. 13 

For the piece that went upright from the earth to the head was of 
cypress; and the piece that went across, to which his hands were 
nailed, was of palm; and the stock, that stood within the earth, in 
which was made the mortise, was of cedar; and the tablet above 
his head, which was a foot and a half long, on which the title was 
written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, was of olive. 

And the Jews made the cross of these four kinds of trees, because 
they believed that our Lord Jesus Christ should have hanged on the 
cross as long as the cross might last; and therefore they made the 
foot of the cross of cedar, because cedar may not rot in earth or 
water; and they thought that it should have lasted long. And because 
they believed that the body of Christ should have stunk, therefore 
they made the piece that went from the earth upward of cypress, 
for it is well smelling, so that the smell of his body should not 
grieve men that passed by. And the cross-piece was of palm, be- 
cause in the Old Testament it was ordained that when any one 
conquered he should be crowned with palm- and because they 
believed, that they had the victory of Christ Jesus, therefore made 
they the cross-piece of palm. And the tablet of the title they made 
of olive, because olive betokens peace; and the story of Noah wit- 
nesseth that when the dove brought the branch of olive, it be- 
tokened peace made between God and man; and so the Jews ex- 
pected to have peace when Christ was dead; for they said that he 
made discord and strife among them. 

And you shall understand that our Lord was nailed on the cross 
in a recumbent position, and therefore he suffered the more pain. 
And the Christians that dwell beyond the sea, in Greece, say that 
the tree of the cross that we call cypress, was of that tree of which 
Adam eat the apple, and that they find written. And they say 
also, that their Scripture saith that Adam was sick, and told his son 
Seth to go to the angel that kept Paradise, to pray that he would 
send him oil of mercy to anoint his members with, that he might 
have health. And Seth went, but the angel would not let him 
come in, telling him that he might not have of the oil of mercy; 
but he gave him three grains of the same tree of which his father 
eat the apple, and bade him, as soon as his father was dead, that he 
should put these three grains under his tongue, and bury him so : 
and he did. 

. And of these three grains sprung a tree, as the angel said that it 
should, and bore a fruit, through which fruit Adam should be 
saved. And when Seth came again he found his father near dead. 
And when he was dead he did with the grains as the angel bade 



14 THE VOYAGES AND TKAVELS 

iiim; of which sprung three trees, whereof the cross was made, that 
bare good fruit and blessed, namely, our Lord Jesus Christ, through 
whom Adam, and all that come of him, should be saved and de- 
livered from dread of death without end, unless it be by their own 
fault. The Jews had concealed this holy cross in the earth, under 
a rock of Mount Calvary^ and it lay there two hundred years and 
more, till the time of St. Helena, the mother of Constantine, Em- 
peror of Rome. She was the daughter of King Coel, born in Col- 
chester, who was King of England, which was then called Britain 
the Greater: the Emperor Constantinus took her to wife for. her 
beauty, and had by her Constantine, whc was afterward Emperor 
of Rome. 

And you shall understand that the cross of our Lord was eight 
cubits long, and the cross-piece was three cubits and a half in 
length. And one part of the crown of our Lord, wherewith he was 
crowned, and one of the nails, and the spear-head, and many other 
relics, are in France, in the king's chapel, the crown being placed 
in a vessel of crystal richly worked. For a king of France bought 
these relics of the Jews, to whom the emperor had given them in 
pledge for a great sum of silver. And if it be so, as men say, that 
this crown is of thorns, you shall understand that it was of rushes 
of the sea, which prick as sharply as thorns; for I have seen and 
beheld many times that of Paris and that of Constantinople; for 
they were both one, made of rushes of the sea. But men had 
divided them in two parts; of which one part is at Paris, and the 
other part is at Constantinople. And I have one of these precious 
thorns, which seems like a white thorn; and it was given to me as a 
great favor; for there are many of them broken and fallen into the 
vessel that the crown lieth in; they break for dryness, when men 
move it, to show it to great lords that come thither. 

And you shall understand that our Lord Jesus, on the night he 
was taken, was led into a garden, where he was first examined very 
sharply; and there the Jews scorned him, and made him a crown 
of the branches of aubespine, or white thorn, which grew in the 
same garden, and set it on his head, so fast and so sore, that the 
blood ran down on many parts of his face, neck, and shoulders. 
And therefore hath white thorn many virtues; for he that beareth a 
branch thereof upon him, no thunder nor tempest may hurt him; 
and no evil spirit may enter in the house in which it is, or come to 
the place that it is in. And in that same garden St. Peter denied 
our Lord thrice. 

Afterward our Lord was led forth before the bishops and the 



OF SIK JOH2S" MATT2SDEVILLE, KT. 15 

masters of the law, into another garden belonging to Annas; and 
there also he v^ examined, reproved, and scorned, and crowned 
again with a white thorn, which is called barbarines, which grew in 
that garden, and which hath also many virtues. And afterward he 
was led into a garden of Caiphas, and there he was crowned with 
eglantine. And after he was led into the chamber of Pilate, and 
there he was examined and crowned. And the Jews set him in a 
chair, and clad him in a mantle and there they made the crown of 
rushes of the sea; and there they knelt to him, ard scorned him, say- 
ing, " Hail, king of the Jews!" Half of this crown is at Paris, and 
the other half at Constantinople. And Christ had this crown on 
Iris head when he was placed on the cross : and therefore ought men 
to worship it, and hold it more worthy than any of the others, And 
the Emperor of Almaine possess the spear-shaft, but the head of the 
spear is at Paris. Yet the Emperor of Constantinople saith that he 
hath the spear-head, and I have often seen it; but it is greater than 
that at Paris. 



CHAPTER III. 

OF THE CITY OP CONSTANTINOPLE, AND OP THE FAITH OP THE 

GREEKS. 

At Constantinople lieth St. Anne, our Lady's mother, whom St. 
Helena caused to be brought from Jerusalem. And there lieth also 
the body of John Chrysostom, who was Archbishop of Constant! 
nople. There lieth also St. Luke the Evangelist, whose bones were 
brought from Bethany, where he was buried. And many other 
relics are there. And there is the vessel of stone, as it were of mar- 
ble, which men call Enydros, and which continually drops water, 
and fills itself every year, till it run over, besides what men take 
from within. 

Constantinople is a very fair and good city, and well walled, and 
it is three-cornered. There is an arm of the Sea of Hellespont, 
which some men call the mouth of Constantinople, and some men 
call it the Brace (or arm) of St. George; and that arm incloses two 
parts of the city. And upward to the sea, upon the water, was 
wont to be the great eity of Troy, in a very fair plain; but that city 
was destroyed by the people of Greece, and little thereof now ap- 
pears, because it is so long since it was destroyed. 

About Greece there are many isles, as Calliste, Calcas, Cetige, 
Tesbria, Mynea, Flaxon, Melo, Carpate, and Lemne. In this latter 



16 THE TOY AGES AKD TRAVELS 

isle is Mount Athos, that passeth the clouds. And there are divers 
languages and many countries obedient to the emperor, namely 
Turcople, Pyneynard, Cornagne, and many others, as Thrace and 
Macedonia, of which Alexander was king. In this country was 
Aristotle born, in a city called Stagyra, a little from the city of 
Thrace. And at Stagyra Aristotle lieth; and there is an altar upon 
his tomb. And they make great feasts for him every year, as 
though he were a saint. And a!; his altar they hold their great 
councils and their assemblies, expecting that through inspiration of 
God and of him they shall have the better council. 

In this country are very high hills, toward the extremity of Mace- 
donia. And there is a great hill, called Olympus, which divides 
Macedonia and Thrace, so high that it passeth the clouds. And 
there is another hill, called Athos, so high that the shadow of it 
reaches to Lemne, which is an island seventy-six miles distant. At 
the summit of this hill the air is so clear, that no wind is found 
there, and therefore no animal may live there; and the air is dry. 

And men say in those countries, that philosophers once went upon 
those hills, and held to their nose a sponge moistened with water, 
to have air, because the air above was so dry; and at the summit, 
in the dust of those hills, they wrote letters and figures with their 
fingers, and at the year's end they came again, and found the same 
letters and figures which they had written the year before, without 
any change. And therefore it appears evident that these hills pass 
the clouds and join to the pure air. 

At Constantinople is the palace of the emperor, very handsome 
and well built; and therein is a fair place for joustings, or for other 
plays and sports. And it is made with stages, and hath steps 
about, that every man may see well, and not intercept the view of 
those behind. And under these stages are stables well vaulted for 
the emperor's horses; and all the pillars are of marble. And within 
the Church of St. Sophia, an emperor once would have buried the 
body of his father when he was dead; and, as they made the grave, 
they found a body in the earth, and upon the body lay a fine plate 
of gold, on which was written in Hebrew. Greek, and Latin, letters 
that said thus: " Jesus Christ shall be born of the Virgin Mary, and 
I believe in him." And the date when it was laid in the earth was 
two thousand years before our Lord was born. The plate of gold is 
still preserved in the treasury of the church. And they say that it 
was Hermogenes, the wise man. 

Although the men of Greece are Christians, yet they vary from 
our faith; for they say that the Holy Ghost may not come of the 



OF SIE JOHK 3IAUNDEVILLE, KT. 17 

Son, but only of the Father. And they are not obedient to the 
Church of Rome, nor to the Pope; for they say that their patriarch 
hath as much power over the sea as the Por. e hath on this side the 
sea. And therefore Pope John XXII. sent letters to them, how 
Christian faith should be all one, and that they should be obedient 
to the Pope, who is God's vicar on earth, to whom God gave his 
full power to bind and to assoil, and therefore they should be obed- 
ient to him. 

But they sent back divers answers, amongst others saying thus : 
" We believe well that thy power is great upon thy subjects. "We 
may not suffer thy great pride. We are not in purpose to fulfill thy 
great covetousness. The Lord be with thee; for our Lord is with 
us. — Farewell." And no other answer might he have of them. They 
make their sacrament of the altar of unleavened bread, because our 
Lord made it of such bread when he made his Maundy. And on 
Shere- Thursday they make their unleavened bread, in token of the 
Maundy, and dry it in the sun, and keep it all the year, and give it 
to sick men instead of God's body. And they make but one unc- 
tion when they christen children. They anoint not the sick. And 
they say that there is no purgatory, and that the souls shall have 
neither joy nor pain till the day of doom. 

They say, moreover, that fornication is not a deadly sin, but a 
thing that is according to nature; and that men and women should 
wed but once; and w T hosoever weddeth oftener than once., their 
children are bastards, and begotten in sin. Their priests also are 
wedded. They say, also, that usury is no deadly sin; and they sell 
benefices of holy church; and so do men in other places (God amend 
it when his will is!), and that is a great scandal; for now is simony 
king crowned in holy church; God amend it for his mercy! And 
they say that in Lent men shall not fast, or sing mass, except on 
the Saturday and on the Sunday. And they fast not on the Satur- 
days, except it be Christmas-eve, or Easter-eve. They suffer not 
the Latins to sing at their altars: and if they do by any chance, they 
immediately wash the altar with holy water. And they say, that 
there should be but one mass said at one altar upon one day. They 
say also that our Lord never eat, but that he made sign of eating. 

They say, moreover, that v?e sin deadly in shaving our beards; 
for the beard is token of a man, and the gift of our Lord. And 
they say that we sin deadly in eating of animals that were forbidden 
in the Old Testament and by the old law, as swine, hares, and other 
beasts that chew not their cud And they say that we sin in eating 
flesh on the days before Ash- Wednesday, and in eating flesh on the 



IS THE VOYAGES AXD TRAVELS 

Wednesday, and eggs and cheese on the Fridays. And they curse 
air those who abstain from eating flesh on the Saturday. The Em- 
peror of Constantinople appoints the patriarch, the archbishops, and 
the bishops, and gives the dignities and the benefices of churches, 
and deprives those "who deserve it, when he finds any cause; and so 
is he lord both temporal and spiritual in his country. 

And although these things touch not to our way, nevertheless they 
touch to that that I have promised you, to sho w you a part of the 
customs, and manners, and diversities of countries. And because 
this is the first countiy that is discordant in faith and in belief, and 
varies from our faith on this side the sea, therefore I have set it 
here, that you may know the diversity that is between our faith and 
theirs. For many men have great liking to hear of strange things 
of diverse countries. 



CHAPTER IV. 

OX THE "WAY FROM CONST ANTES' OPLE TO JERUSALEM. —OF ST. 
JOHN THE EVANGELIST, AND OF THE DAUGHTER OF YPOCRAS, 
TRANSFOEMED FROM A WOMAN TO A DRAGON. 

Now return I again to explain to you the way from Constanti- 
nople to Jerusalem. He that will proceed through Turkey, goes 
toward the city of Nice, and passes through the gate of Chienetout, 
and men see constantly before them the hill of Chienetout, which is 
very lofty, it is a mile and a half from Nice. And if you will go 
by water, by the Brace of St. George, and by the sea where St. 
Nicholas lieth, and toward many other places, first, you go to an 
isle that is called Sylo ; in which mastic grows on small trees, out of 
which comes gum, as it were of plum-trees, or of cherry-trees. And 
after men go by the Isle of Patmos, where St. John the Evangelist 
wrote the Apocalypse. And you shall understand that St. John was 
thirty-two years of age when our Lord suffered his passion, and after 
his passion he lived sixty-seven years, and in the hundredth year of 
his age he died. 

From Patmos men go to Ephesus, a fair city, and nigh to the sea. 
And there died St. John, and was buried in a tomb behind the high 
altar. And there is a fair church, for the Christians were always 
wont to hold that place. And in the tomb of St. John is nothing 
but manna, which is called angels' meat, for his body was translated 
into Paradise. And the Turks now hold all that place, with the 
city, and the church; and all Asia the Less is called Turkey. And 



OF SIR JOHN" MAUNDEYILLE, KT. 19 

you shall understand that St. John caused his grave to be made 
there in his life, and laid himself therein, all alive; and, therefore, 
some men say that he did not die, but that he rests there till the 
day of doom. And, in truth, there is a great marvel, for men may 
see there the earth of the tomb many times openly stir and mo^e, 
as though there were living things under. 

And from Ephesus we go through many islands in the sea to the 
city of Patera, where St. Nicholas was born, and so to Myra, where 
he was chosen to be bishop; and there grows very good and strong 
wine, which they call wine of Myra. And from thence men go to 
the Isle of Crete, which the emperor once gave to the Genoese. 

And then we pass through the isles of Colos and of Lango, of 
which isles Ypocras was lord; and some men say, that in the Isle of 
Lango is still the daughter of Ypocras, in form and likeness of a 
great dragon, which is a hundred fathoms in length, as they say, for 
I have not seen her. And they of the isles call her lady of the land. 
And she lies in an old castle, in a cave, and appears twice or thrice 
in the year; and she doth no harm to any man unless he do her harm. 
She was thus changed and transformed from a fair damsel into the 
likeness of a dragon by a goddess named Diana; and they say that 
she shall remain in that form until the time that a knight come, 
who shall be so bold that he dare come to her and kiss her on the 
mouth; and then she shall turn again to her own nature, and be a 
woman again; but after that she shall not live long. And it is not 
long since a knight of Rhodes, who was bold and doughty in arms, 
said that he would kiss her; when he was upon his courser and 
went to the castle, and entered into the cave, the dragon lifted up 
her head toward him, and when the knight saw her in that form, so 
hideous and horrible, he fled away. But the dragon carried the 
knight upon a rock, and from thence she cast him into the sea, and 
so were lost both horse and man. 

A young man that knew not of the dragon, went out of a ship, 
and proceeded through the isle until he came to the castle and en- 
tered the cave, and went so far that he found a chamber; and there 
he saw a damsel who was combing her head and looking in a mir- 
ror, and she had much treasure about her, and he believed she had 
been a woman, who dwelt there to receive men to folly; and he 
abode till the damsel saw the shadow of him in the mirror, and she 
turned her toward him and asked him, what he would? And he 
said, he would be her paramour. And she asked him if he were a 
knight? And he said, nay. And then she said that he might not 
be her leman; bat she bade him go again unto his fellows and get 



20 THE VOYAGES AND TRAVELS 

him knighted, and come again upon the morrow, and she would 
come out of the cave before him; and then he should come and kiss 
her on the mouth, and have no fear, ' ' for I shall do thee no harm, 
although thou see me in likeness of a dragon; for though thou see 
me hideous and horrible to look upon, know that it is made bj r en- 
chantment. For without doubt I am no other than thou seest now, 
a woman, and therefore fear not; and if thou kiss me, thou shalt 
have all this treasure and be my lord, and lord also of all the isle." 

And he departed from her and went to his fellows, in the ship, 
and was made a knight, and returned on the morrow to kiss the 
damsel. But when he saw her come out of the cave, in form of a 
dragon, so hideous and so horrible, he had so great fear that he fled 
again to the ship; and she followed him. And when she saw that 
he turned not again, she began to cry as a thing that had much sor- 
row, and then she returned to her cave; and anon the knight died. 
And from that time to this might no knight see her but he died 
anon. But when there shall come a knight who is bold enough to 
kiss her, he shall not die; but he shall turn the damsel into her right 
form and natural shape, and he shall be lord of all the countries and 
isles above, said. 

And from thence men come to the Isle of Rhodes, which isle the 
Hospitalers hold and govern, having on a time taken it from the 
emperor. It was formerly called Collos, and so the Turks call it 
still; and St. Paul, in his Epistles, writes to the people of this isle, 
ad Colossenses. This isle is nearly eight hundred miles from Con- 
stantinople. 

From this Isle of Rhodes we go to Cyprus, where are many vines, 
which first produce red wine, and after one year they become white; 
and those wines that are most white are the clearest and best of 
smell. And men pass that way by a place which was a great city 
and a great land; and the city was called Sathalie. This city and 
the land were lost through the folly of a young man, who had a fair 
damsel whom he loved well for his paramour, and she died sud- 
denly and was placed in a tomb of marble; and for the great love 
that he had to her, he went in the night to her tomb, and opened it 
and went in. And there came a voice to him, and said, " Go to the 
tomb of that woman, and open it, and if thou omittest to go thou 
shalt have a great haim." And he went and opened the tomb; and 
there came out a snake, very hideous to behold, which immediately 
flew about the city and the country, and soon after the city was swal- 
lowed up. And there are many perilous passages. 

From Rhodes to Cyprus are five hundred miles and more; but we 



OF SIK JOHN MAUNDEYILLE, KT. 21 

may go to Cyprus without touching at Rhodes. Cyprus is a very 
good, fair, and great island, and it hath four principal cities, with 
an archbishop at Nicosia, and four other bishops; and at Famagosta 
is one of the first harbors of the sea in the world; and there arrive 
Christians, Saracens, and men of all nations. In Cyprus is the hill 
of the Holy Cross, where there is an abbey of black monks, and 
there is the cross of Dismas, the good thief, as I have said before. 
And some men believe that there is half of the cross of our Lord; 
but it is not so, and they do wrong who make people believe so. 

In Cyprus lies St. Zenomyne, of whom men of that country make 
great solemnity; and in the castle of Amours lies the body of St. 
Hilary, which they keep very worshipful ly. Near'Famagosta, St. 
Barnabas the apostle was born. In Cyprus they hunt with papyons, 
which resemble leopards, and they take wild beasts right well, and 
they are somewhat larger than lions, and take more sharply and 
more cleverly than hounds do. In Cyprus it is the custom for lords 
and all other men to eat on the earth; for they make trenches in the 
eartn about in the hall, deep to the knee, and pave them; and when 
they will eat, they go therein and sit there. And the reason is that 
they may be cooler; for that land is much hotter than it is here. 
And at great feasts, and for strangers, they set forms and tables as 
men do in this country; but they themselves prefer sitting on the 
earth. 

From Cyprus they go to the land of Jerusalem by sea, and 
in a day and night he that hath good wind may come to the haven 
of Tyre, which is now called Sur. Here was once a great and good 
city of the Christians; but the Saracens have destroyed it in great 
part; and they guard that haven carefully for fear of the Chris- 
tians. Men might go more direct to that haven, without touching 
at Cyprus; but they go gladly to Cyprus, to rest them in the land, 
or to buy things that they need for their living. On the sea-side 
many rubies are found. 

There is the well of which Holy Writ speaketh, saying, "A 
fountain of gardens, and a well of living waters. ' ' It was in this 
city of Tyre that the woman said to our Lord, ' ' Blessed is the 
womb that bare Thee, and the paps which Thou hast sucked." And 
there our Lord forgave the woman of Canaan her sins. And before 
Tyre stood formerly the stone on which our Lord sat and preached, 
and over which was built the Church of St. Saviour. 

Eight miles from Tyre, toward the east, upon the sea, is the city 
of Sarphen, in Sarept of the Sidonians. There dwelt Elijah the 
prophet, and he raised there Jonas, the widow's son, from death to 



22 THE" VOYAGES A^D TRAVELS 

life. And five miles from Sarphcn is the city of Sidon, of which 
Dido was lady, who was wife of Eneas, after the destruction of 
Troy, and who founded the city of Carthage in Africa, and now it 
is called Didon Sayete. And in the city of Tyre reigned Agenor, 
the father of Dido. Sixteen miles from Sidon is Beruthe (Beirut); 
and from Beruthe to Sardenare is three days. And from Sardenare 
it is five miles to Damascus. 

And those who are willing to go a long time on the sea, and come 
nearer to Jerusalem, may proceed from Cyprus by sea to the port of 
Jaffa, for that is the nearest port to Jerusalem, the distance being 
only one day and a half. The town is called Jaffa because one of 
the sons of Noah, named Japhet, founded it, and now it is called 
Joppa. And you shall understand that it is one of the oldest towns 
in the world, for it was founded before Noah's flood. And there 
may still be seen in the rock there the place where the iron chains 
were fastened, wherewith Andromeda, a great giant, was bound 
and put in prison, before Noah's flood; a rib of whose side, which 
is forty feet long, is still shown. 

And those who go to the port of Tyre or Sur, before mentioned, 
may proceed by land, if they will, to Jerusalem. They go from 
Sur in a day to the city of -Akoun (Acre), which was called formerly 
Ptolemais, and it was once a very fine city of Christians; but it is 
now destroyed. It stands upon the sea. From Venice to Akoun, 
by sea, is two thousand and eighty Lombard miles. From Calabria, 
or from Sicily to Akoun, by sea, is thirteen hundred Lombard 
miles. And the Isle of Crete is just midway. Near the city of 
Akoun, toward the sea, one hundred and twenty furlongs on the 
right, toward the south, is the hill of Carmel, where Elijah the 
prophet dwelt, and where the order of Friars Carmelites was first 
founded. This hill is not very great, nor very high. 

At the foot of this hill was formerly a good city of the Christians 
called Caiaphas, because Caiaphas first founded it; but it is now all 
waste. And on the left side of the hill of Carmel is a town called 
Saffre, which is situated on another hill. There St. James and St. 
John were born, and there is a fair church in honor of them. And 
from Ptolemais, which is now called Akoun, it is one hundred fur- 
longs to a great hill, called the scale (or ladder) of Tyre. 

And near the city of Akoun runs a little river called Belon; and 
there nigh is the fosse of Memnon, which is all round; and it is one 
hundred cubits broad, and all full of gravel, shinging bright, of 
which men make fair and clear glasses. Men come from afar, by 
water with ships, and by land with carts, to fetch of that gravel; 



OF SIR JOHN MAUNDEVILLE, KT. 23 

and though ever so much be taken away thereof one day, on the 
morrow it is as full again as ever it was. And that is a great won- 
der. And there is always great wind in that fosse, that continually 
stirs the gravel and makes it troubled; and if any man put therein 
any kind of metal, it turns to glass, and the glass made of that 
gravel, if it be thrown back into the gravel, turns to gravel as it was 
first; and therefore some men say that it is a whirlpool of the grav- 
elly sea. 

From Akoun, above mentioned, it is four days' journey to the 
city of Palestine, which was of the Philistines, now called Gaza, 
which is a gay and rich city; and it is very fair, and full of people, 
and is at a little distance from the sea. From this city Samson the 
strong brought the gates upon a high land, when he was taken in 
that city; and there he slew, in a palace, the king and himself, and 
great numbers of the her,t of the Philistines, wh^ had put out his 
eyes, and shaved his head, and imprisoned him by treason of De- 
lilah, his paramour. And therefore he caused a great hall to fall 
upon them when they were at meat. From thence we go to the 
city of Cesarea, and so to the Castle of Pilgrims, and so to Ascalon, 
and then to Jaffa, and so to Jerusalem. 



CHAPTER V. 

OF MANY NAMES OF SULTANS, AND OF THE TOWER OF BABYLON. 

And he who will go by land through the land of Babylonia, 
where the sultan dwells commonly, he must get leave and grace of 
him, to go more safely through the lands and countries. And to go 
to the Mount of Sinai, before men go to Jerusalem, they shall go 
from Gaza to the castle of Daire.. And after that they come out of 
Syria and enter a wilderness where the way is sandy; and that wil- 
derness and desert lasts eight days. But men always find good inns 
and all they need of victuals. And that wilderness is called Athy- 
lec. And when a man comes out of that desert he enters into 
Egypt, which is called Egypt Canopac : and after other language, 
men call it Morsyn. And there men first find a good town, called 
Belethe, which is at the end of the kingdom of Aleppo; and from 
thence men go to Babylon and to Cairo. 

At Babylon there is a fair church of our Lady, where she dwelt 
seven years, when she fled out of the land of Judea for dread of king 
Herod. And there lieth the body of St. Barbara, the virgin and 
martyr. And there dwelt Joseph after he was sold by his brethren. 



24: THE VOYAGES AKD TRAVELS.. 

And there Nebuchadnezzar, the king, caused the three children lo- 
be thrown into the furnace of fire because they were in the true 
belief; which children were called Hananiah, Azariah, Michael, as 
the psalm of Benedicite says. But Nebuchadnezzar called them 
otherwise, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that is to say, God 
glorious, God victorious, and God over all things and realms, on 
account of the miracle, that he saw God's Son go with the children 
through the fire, as he said. The sultan dwells in his Calahelyke 
(for there is commonly his residence), in a fair castle, strong and 
great, and well set upon a rock. In that castle dwell always, to 
keep it and to serve the sultan, more than 6000 persons, who re- 
ceive here all necessaries from the su. 1 tan's court. I ought to know 
it well, for I dwelt a great while with him as soldier in his wars 
against the Bedouins; and he would have married me full highly to 
a great prince's daughter if I would have forsaken my law and my 
belief. But I thank God I had no will to do it for anything that he 
promised me. 

And you shall understand that the sultan is lord of five kingdoms, 
that he hath conquered and taken possession of by strength; and 
these are their names: the kingdom of Canopac, that is Egypt; and 
the kingdom of Jerusalem, where David and Solomon were kings; 
and the kingdom of Syria, of which the city of Damascus was chief; 
and the kingdom of Aleppo, in the land of Mathe; and the kingdom 
of Arabia, that belonged to one of the three kings who made offer- 
ing to our Lord when he was born. And he holds many other lands 
in his hand. And therewithal he holds caliphs, which is a full 
great thing in their language, being as much as to say, kings. And 
there were wont to be five sultans, but now there is no more but he 
of Egypt. 

The first sultan was Sarocon, who was of Media (the father of 
Saladin), who took the caliph of Egypt and slew him, and was made 
sultan by strength. After him was Sultan Saladin, in whose time 
the King of England, Richard I., with many others, kept the pas- 
sage, that Saladin might not pass. After Saladin, reigned his son 
Boradin; and after him his nephew. After that the Comanians, 
who were in slavery in Egypt, feeling themselves of great power, 
chose them a sultan amongst them, who took the name of Meleche- 
salan, in whose time St. Louis, King of France, entered into the 
country and fought with him; and the sultan took him prisoner. 
This sultan was slain by his own servants. And after they chose 
another to be sultan, who was called Tympieman; he delivered St. 
Louis out of prison for a certain ransom. After him one of the 



OF SIR JOHN MAUNDEVILLE, KT. 25 

Comanians reigned, named Cachas, and slew Tympieman, in order 
to be sultan; he took the name of Melechemes. He was succeeded 
by one named Bendochdare, who slew Melechemes to be sultan, 
and called himself Melechdare. In his time the good King Edward 
of England entered into Syria, and did great harm to the Saracens. 
This sultan was poisoned at Damascus; and his son thought to reign 
after him by heritage, and took the name of Melechsache; but an- 
other, named Elphy, drove him out of the country, and made him- 
self sultan. This man took the city of Tripoli, and destroyed many 
of the Christian men, in the year of Grace 1289; but he was soon 
after slain. Elphy's son succeeded as sultan, and took the name of 
Melechasseraff; he took the city of Acre, and expelled the Chris- 
tians; and he also was poisoned, upon which his brother was made 
sultan, and called Melechnasser. And after, one who was called 
Guytoga took him and threw him into prison in the castle of Mount 
Royal, and usurped the sovereignty by force, and took the name of 
Melechcadelle; and he was a Tartar. But the Comanians drove 
him out of the country, and caused him much sorrow; and made 
one of themselves sultan, named Lachyn, who assumed the name 
of Melechmanser. One day he was playing at chess, and his sword 
lay beside him, and it befell that one angered him, and he was slain 
with his own sword. After that there was great discord before 
they could choose a sultan, and finally they agreed to take Melech- 
nasser, whom Guytoga had put in prison at Mount Royal. He 
reigned long and governed wisely; so that his eldest son, Meleche- 
mader, was chosen after him; he was secretly put to death by his 
brother, who succeeded him, and was called Melechmadabron. 
And he was sultan when I departed from that country. 

Now you must know that the sultan can lead out of Egypt more 
than 20,000 men of all arms; and out of Syria, and Turkey, and 
other countries that he holds, he may raise more than 50,000. And 
all these are at his wages; and they are always ready, besides the 
people of his country, who are without number. And each of them 
has six score florins by the year; but he is expected to keep three 
horses and a camel. And in the cities and towns are admirals, that 
have the government of the people. One has four to govern, an- 
other five, another more, and another a much greater number. And 
the admiral, himself alone, receives as much as all the other soldiers 
under him. And therefore, when the sultan will advance any 
worthy knight, he makes him an admiral. "When there is dearth 
the knights are very poor, and then they sell both their horses and 
their harness. 



26 THE VOYAGES AKD TRAVELS 

Tne sultan has four wives, one Christian, and three Saracens; of 
whom one dwells at Jerusalem, another at Damascus, and another 
at Ascalon. And when they please they remove to other cities; and 
when the sultan will he may go and visit them. And he has as 
many paramours as he pleases; for he causes to be brought before 
him the fairest and noblest damsels of his country, who are kept 
and served full honorably, and he makes them all come before him, 
and looks at them all to see which is most to his liking, and to her 
anon he sends or throws a ring from his finger; and then anon she 
shall be bathed and richly attired, and anointed with delicate things 
of sweet smell, and then led to the sultan's chamber. 

No stranger comes before the sultan without being clothed in 
cloth of gold, or of Tartary, or of Camaka, in the Saracens' guise, 
and according to the usage of the Saracens. And when men see 
the sultan for the first time, be it at the window, or in any other 
place, they must kneel to him and kiss the earth, for that is the 
manner for those who speak with the sultan to do reverence to him. 
"When the messengers of foreign countries come before him, the 
sultan's people, when the strangers speak to him, stand round the 
sultan with drawn swords and gysarmes and axes, their arms raised 
up on high with their weapons, to smite them, if they say any word 
that is displeasing to the sultan. Neither does any stranger come 
before him without receiving a promise and grant of what he asks 
reasonably, if it be not against his law; and so do other princes 
beyond. For they say that no mam should come before a prince 
without being the better, and departing from his presence in greater 
gladness than when he came before him. 

You must understand that the Babylon of which I have spoken, 
where the sultan dwells, is not that great Babylon where the 
diversity of languages was first made by the miracle of God when 
the great tower of Babel was begun, of- which the walls were sixty- 
four furlongs high; for that is in the great deserts of Arabia, on the 
way as men go toward the kingdom of Chaldea. But it is full long 
since any man dare approach to the tower; for it is all desert and 
full of dragons and great serpents, and infested by divers venomous 
beasts. That tower, with the city, was twenty- five miles in the cir 
cuit of the walls, as they of the country say, and as men may judge 
by estimation, according to what men of the country tell. And 
though it is called the towei of Babylon, yet there were ordained 
within it many mansions and great dwelling-places, in length and 
breadth; and it included an extensive district, for the tower alone 
was ten miles square. 



OF SIE JOHN MATJNDEVILLE, KT. 27 

That tower was founded by King Nimrod, who was king of that 
country, and he was the first king in the world. He caused an 
image to be made in the likeness of his father, and obliged all his 
subjects to worship it, in imitation of which other lords began to 
do the same, and this was the commencement of idols and simula- 
cres. The town and city were situated in a fair country on a plain, 
which they call the country of Samar; the walls of the city were 
two hundred cubits in height, and fifty cubits in breadth. The 
River Euphrates ran through the city and about the tower; but 
Cyrus, King of Persia, took from them the river, and destroyed all 
the city and the tower also, for he divided the river into Ihree hun- 
dred and sixty small rivers, because he had sworn that he would 
put the river in such point that a woman might easily pass it with- 
out taking up her clothes; because he had lost many worthy men 
that tried to pass the river by swimming. 

And from Babylon, where the sultan dwells, to go right between 
the east and the north, toward the great Babylon, it is forty days 
across the desert. But the great Babylon is not in the land and 
power of the said sultan, but in the power and lordship of the King 
of Persia, who holds it of the Great Khan, who is the greatest em- 
peror and the most sovereign lord of all the parts beyond; and he is 
lord of the isles of Cathay and of many other isles, and of a great 
part of India. His land borders unto Prester John's land; and he 
possesses so much land that he knoweth not the end of it. And he 
is a mightier and greater lord without comparison than the sultan. 
I shall speak more fully of his royal estate and of his might when I 
treat of India. 

The city of Mechon (Mecca), where Mohammed is buried, is also 
in the great desert of Arabia, His body lies there very honorably 
in their temple, which the Saracens call mosque. It is from Baby- 
lou the Less, where the sultan dwells, to Mechon, about thirty-two 
days. The realm of Arabia is a very great country; but therein is 
overmuch desert, and no man may dwell there in that desert, for 
want of water, because the land is all gravelly and full of sand. 
And it is dry and entirely barren, because it hath no moisture, and 
therefore is there so much desert. And if it had rivers and wells, 
and the land were as in other parts, it would be as full of people 
and as well inhabited as in other places. For there is a great mul- 
titude of people wherever the land is inhabited. 

Arabia reaches from the borders of Chaldea to the extremity of 
Africa, and borders on the land of Idumea, toward the end of 
Botron. And in Chaldea the chief city is Baldak, The chief city 



28 THE VOYAGES AND TRAVELS 

of Africa is Carthage, which Dido, who was Eneas's wife, founded. 
Mesopotamia stretches also unto the deserts of Arabia; it is an 
extensive country, and in it is the city of Haran, where Abraham's 
father dwelt, and from whence Abraham departed by command of 
the angel. And of that city was Ephraem, who was a celebrated 
scholar. Theophilus was also of that city, whom our Lady saved 
from the Evil One. Mesopotamia reaches from the River Euphrates 
to the River Tigris, lying between those two rivers; and beyond the 
Tigris is Chaldea, which is a very extensive kingdom. 

In that realm, at Baldak abovesaid, the caliphs formerly dwelt, 
who were both as emperors and popes of the Arabians, lords spirit- 
ual and temporal. They were the successors of Mohammed, from 
whom they were descended. The city of Baldak was formerly 
called Sutis, and was founded by Nebuchadnezzar. There dwelt 
the holy prophet Daniel, and there he saw visions of heaven, and 
there he made the exposition of dreams. There were formerly 
three caliphs, and they dwelt in the city of Baldak aforesaid. 

The caliph of Egypt dwelt at Cairo, beside Babylon; and at 
Marrok, on the west sea, dwelt the caliph of the Barbarians and 
Africans. But there are now none of the caliphs, nor have there 
been since the time of the Sultan Saladin, since which the sultan 
calls himself the caliph, and thus the caliphs have lost their nan^e. 
You must feaiow that Babylon the Less, where the sultan dwells, 
and the city of Cairo, which is near it, are great and fair cities, the 
one nearly adjacent to the other. Babylon is situated on the River 
Gyson. sometimes called the Nile, which comes out of terrestrial 
Paradise. 

The River Nile, every year, when the sun enters the sign of 
Cancer, begins to increase, and continues increasing as long as the 
sun is in Cancer and in Leo. And it increases to such a degree that 
it is sometimes twenty cubits or more deep, and then it does great 
harm to the goods that are upon the land; for then no man can till 
the earth on account of its great moistness, and therefore there is 
dear time in that country. And also, when it increaseth little, it is 
dear time in that country, for want of moisture. And when the 
sun is in the sign of Virgo, then begins the river to wane and de- 
crease gradually, so that when the sun is entered into the sign of 
Libra, then they enter between these rivers, This river comes from 
terrestrial Paradise, between the deserts of India; and after it 
descends on the earth, and runs through many extensive countries 
under earth; and after it comes out under a high hill, which they 
call Alothe, between India and Ethiopia, at a distance of five. 



OF SIR JOHis" MAUXDEYILLE, KT. 29 

months' journey from the entrance of Ethiopia; and after it en- 
virons all Ethiopia and Mauritania, and goes all along from the 
land of Egypt to the city of Alexandria, to the end of Egypt, where 
it falls into the sea. About this river are many birds and fowls, as 
storks, which they call ibes. 

Egypt is a long country, but it is narrow, because they may not 
enlarge it toward the desert for want of water. And the country is 
situated along the River Nile; so that that river may serve by floods 
or otherwise, that when it flows it may spread abroad through the 
country. For it raineth but little in that country, and for that 
cause they have no water, unless it be by the overflowing of that 
river. And as it does not rain the air is always pure and clear; 
therefore, in that country are good astronomers, for they find there 
no clouds to obstruct them. 

The city of Cairo is very greal , more extensive than that of Baby- 
lon the Less; and it is situated above toward the desert of Syria, a 
little above the river aforesaid. In Egypt there are two parts; Up- 
per Egypt, which is toward Ethiopia, and Lowei Egypt, which is 
toward Arabia. In Egypt is the land of Rameses and the land of 
Goshen. Egypt is a strong country, for it has many dangerous 
havens, because of the great rocks, that are strong and dangerous to 
pass by. 

Toward the east of Egypt is the Red Sea, which extends to the 
city of Coston; and toward the west is the country of Lybia, which 
is a very dry land, and unfruitful, on account of the excess of heat. 
And that land is called Fusthe. And toward the south is Ethiopia. 
And toward the north is the desert, which extends to Syria. Thus 
the country is strong on all sides. And it is full fifteen days' 
journey in length, and more than twice as much of desert, and it is 
but two days' in breadth. Between Egypt and Nubia there is full 
twelve days of desert. The men of Nubia are Christians, but they 
are black, like the Moors, on account of the great heat of the sun. 

In Egypt there are five provinces; one is called Sahythe; the 
other, Demeseer; another, Resithe, which is an isle in the Nile; an- 
other, Alexandria; and another, the land of Damiette. This latter 
city was once very strong, but it was twice taken by the Christians, 
and therefore the Saracens have beaten down the walls. And with 
the walls and the tower thereof the Saracens made another city 
further from the sea, and called it New Damiette, so that now the 
older town of Damiette is uninhabited. That city of uamiette is 
one of the havens of Egypt, and at Alexandria is the other. This 
is a very strong city; but it has no water except what is brought by 



30 THE VOYAGES AOT TEAVELS 

conduit from the Nile, which enters into their cisterns; and if any 
one stopped that water from them they could not hold out a siege. 
In Egypt there are but few forts or castles, because the country is 
so strong of itself. 

In Egypt is the city of Heliopolis, that is to say, the city of the 
Sun, in which there is a temple, made round, after the shape of the 
temple of Jerusalem. The priests of that temple have all their 
writings dated by the bird called Phenix, of which there is but one 
in the world. It comes to burn itself on the altar of the temple at 
the end of five hundred years, for so long it lives; and then the 
priests array their altar, and put thereon spices, and sulphur, and 
other things that will burn quickly, and the Phenix comes and 
burns itself to ashes. The nest day they find in the ashes a worm; 
and the second day after they find a bird, alive and perfect; and 
the third day it flies away. This bird is often seen flying in those 
countries; it is somewhat larger than an eagle, and has a crest of 
feathers on its head greater than that of a peacock; its "neck is 
yellow, its beak blue, and its wings of a purple color, and the tail 
is yellow and red. It is a very handsome bird tc look at against 
the sun, for it shines very gloriously and nobly. 

Also, in Egypt, there are gardens with trees and herbs which 
bear fruit seven times in the year. And in that land abundance of 
fair emeralds are found, which are on that account cheaper than 
elsewhere. When it rains, once in the summer, in the land of 
Egypt, the country is all full of great mires. At Cairo they sell 
commonly in the market, as we do beasts, both men and women of 
a different religion. And there is a common house in that city, 
which is all full of small furnaces, to which the townswomen bring 
their eggs of hens, geese, and ducks, to be put into the furnaces- 
and they that keep that house cover them with horse dung, without 
hen, goose, or duck, or any other fowl, and at the end of three 
weeks or a month they come again and take their chickens and 
nourish them and bring them forth, so that all the country is full 
of them. And this they do there both winter and summer. 

In that country also, and in some others, are found long apples in 
their season, which they call apples of Paradise; and they are very 
sweet and of good savor. And though you cut them in ever so 
many slices or parts, across or endwise, you will always find in the 
middle the figure of the holy cross. But they will rot within eight 
days, for which reason they can not be carried to far countries. 
They have great leaves, a foot and a half long, and proportionately 
broad. They find there also the apple tree of Adam, the fruit of 



OF SIB JOHN MAUNDEVILLE, KT. 31 

which has a bite on one side. And there are also fig-trees which 
bear no leaves, but figs grow upon the small branches; and men 
call them figs of Pharaoh. Also near Cairo is the field where balm 
grows; it comes out on small trees, that are no higher than the 
girdle of a man's breeches, and resemble the wood of the wild vine. 
And in that field are seven wells, which our Lord Jesus Christ made 
with one of his feet, when he went to play with other children. 

That field is not so well closed but men may enter at their will; 
but in the season when the balm is growing good guards are placed 
there, that no man dare enter. This balm grows in no other place 
but this; and though men bring of the plants to plant in other 
countries, they grow well and fair, but they bring forth no fruit; 
and the leaves of balm never fall. They cut the branches with a 
sharp flint stone, or with a sharp bone; for if any one cut them 
with iron, it would destroy their virtue and nature. 

The Saracens call the wood Enoclibalse ; and the fruit, which re- 
sembles cubebs, they call Abebissam ; and the liquor that drops 
from the branches they call Ouybalse. They always cause that balm 
to be cultivated by Christians, or else it would not fructify, as the 
Saracens say themselves, for it hath been oftentimes proved. Men 
say also that balm grows in India the Greater, in that desert where 
the trees of the sun and moon spake to Alexander. But I have not 
seen it, for I have not been so far upward, because there are too 
many perilous passages. And you must know that a man ought to 
take great care in buying balm; for, if he does not know it well, he 
may very easily be deceived; for they sell a gum called turpentine 
instead of balm, putting thereto a little balm to give a good odor. 
And some put wax in oil of the wood of the fruit of balm, and say 
that it is balm; and some distill cloves of gilofre and spikenard of 
Spain, and other spices that are well smelling, and the liquor from 
it they call balm; and they imagine they have balm, but they are 
mistaken. For the Saracens counterfeit it to deceive the Christians, 
as I have seen many a time; and after them, the merchants and 
the apothecaries counterfeit it again, and then it is less worth, and a 
great deal worse. 

But I will show how you may know and prove it, to the end that 
you shall not be deceived. First, you must know that the natural 
balm is very clear, of citron color, and strong smell; and if it be 
thick, or red, or black, it is counterfeit. And if you will put a lit- 
tle balm in the palm of your hand toward the sun, if it be fine and 
good you will not be able to bear your hand in the sun's heat. Also, 
take a little balm with the point of a knife, and touch it to the fire, 



32 THE VOYAGES AJ5TD TRAVELS 

and if it burn it is a good sign. Take also a drop of balm, and put 
it into a dish, or in a cup, with milk of a goat,, and, if it be natural 
balm, anon it will take and curdle the milk. Or put a drop of balm 
in clear water, in a cup of silver or in a clean basin, and stir it well 
with the clear water; and if the balm be fine and genuine the water 
will not be troubled; but if the balm be counterfeit the water will 
become troubled immediately. Also, if the balm be fine, it will fall 
to the bottom of the vessel, as though it were quicksilver; for the 
fine balm is twice as heavy as the balm that is counterfeited. 

Nowl will speak of another thing that is beyond Babylon, above 
the Nile, toward the desert, between Africa and Egypt; that is, of 
the granaries of Joseph, that he caused to be made, to keep the 
grains against the dear years, They are made of stone, well made 
by masons' craft; two of them are marvelously great and high, the 
others are not so great. And each granary has a gate to enter 
within, a little above the earth; for the land is wasted and fallen 
since the granaries were made. Within they are all full of serpents; 
and above the granaries without are many writings in divers lan- 
guages. And some men say that they are sepulchers of great lords 
that were formerly; but that is not true, for all the common rumor 
and speech of the people there, both far and near, is that they are 
the granaries of Joseph; and so find they in their writings and 
chronicles. On the other side, if they were sepulchers, they would 
not be empty within; for you may well know, that tombs and sep- 
ulchers are not made of such magnitude or elevation; wherefore it 
is not credible that they are tombs or sepulchers. 

Now I will proceed to tell you the other ways that draw toward 
Babylon, where the sultan dwells, which is at the entry of Egypt; 
because many people go thither first, and after that to Mount Sinai, 
and then return to Jerusalem, as I have told 3 r ou before. For they 
perform first the longer pilgrimage, and return by the nearest ways; 
because the nearer way is the more worthy, and that is Jerusalem; 
for no other pilgrimage is to be compared to it. But to accomplish 
their pilgrimages more easily and safely, men go first the longer 
way. But whoever will go to Babylon by another way, and shorter 
from the countries of the west, he may go by France, Burgundy, 
and Lombardy. It is not necessary to tell you the names of the 
cities and towns in that way, for the way is common, and known to 
everybody. 

There are many ports where men take the sea; some embark at 
Genoa; some at Venice, and pass by the Adriatic Sea, which is 
called the Gulf of Venice, and divides Italy and Greece on that side; 



OF SIR JOHK MAUSTDEVILLE, KT. 33 

and some go to Naples; some to Rome, and from Rome to Brindes, 
and embark there, and in many other places. Some go by Tuscia, 
Campania, Calabria, by Apulia, and by the mountains of Italy 
Chorisque, by Sardinia, and by Sicily, which is a great and good 
isle. In that isle of Sicily is a kind of garden, in which are many 
different fruits; and the garden is green and flourishing at all sea- 
sons of the year, as well in winter as in summer. The isle contains 
in compass about three hundred and fifty French miles. Between 
Sicily and Italy there is but a little arm of the sea, which men call 
the Faro of Messina; and Sicily is between the Adriatic Sea and the 
Sea of Lombardy. From Sicily to Calabria is but eight Lombard 
miles. 

In Sicily there is a kind of serpent by which men assay and prove 
if their children be bastards or not; for if they are born in lawful 
marriage, the serpents go about them, and do them no harm; but if 
they are illegitimate, the serpents bite them and kill them with their 
venom; and thus many wedded men ascertain if the children be 
their own. Also in that isle is Mount Etna, which men call Mount 
Gybell, and volcanoes, that are ever burning. And there are seven 
places which burn and cast out flames of divers colors; and by the 
changing of those flames, men of that country know when it will be 
dearth or good, time, or cold or hot, or moist or dry, or in all other 
manners how the time will vary. From Italy to the volcanoes is 
but twenty-five miles; and they say that the volcanoes are ways to 
hell. 

Also, for those who go by Pisa, there is an arm of the sea, where 
men go to other havens in those parts, and then they pass by the isle 
of Greaf, that is at Genoa; and so they arrive in Greece at the port 
of the city of Myrok, or at the port of Yalone, or at the city of 
Duras (where there is a duke), or at other ports ■ in those parts; and 
so men go to Constantinople. And afterward they go by water to 
the Isle of Crete, and to the Isle of Rhodes, and so to Cyprus, and so 
to Athens, and from thence to Constantinople. 

To hold the more direct way by sea, it is full one thousand eight 
hundred and eighty Lombard miles. And after, from Cyprus they 
go by sea, and leave Jerusalem and that country on the left, and 
proceed to Egypt, and arrive at the city of Damiette, at the entrance 
of Egypt, whence they go to Alexandria, which is also upon the 
sea. In that city was St. Catharine beheaded; and there St. Mark 
the Evangelist was martyred and buried; but the Emperor Leo 
caused his bones to be carried to Venice. 

There is still at Alexandria a fair church, all white, without pict- 

2 



34 THE YOTAGES AND TRAVELS 

ures; and so are all the other churches which belonged to the 
Christians all white within, for the Pagans and the Saracens white- 
washed them, to destroy the images of saints that were painted on 
the walls. The city of Alexandria is fully thirty furlongs in length, 
but it is but ten broad; and it is a noble and fair ci f y. Here the 
river Nile enters the sea; in which river are found many precious 
stones, and much also of lignum aloes, a kind of wood that comes 
out of terrestrial Paradise, and is good for many different medicines; 
and it is very precious. From Alexandria we go to Babylon, where 
the sultan dwells, which is situated also on the river Nile; and this 
is the shortest way to go direct to Babylon. 

From Babylon to Mount Sinai, where St. Catherine liexh, you 
must pass by the desert of Arabia, by which Moses led the people of 
Israel; and then you pass the well which Moses made with his 
hand in the desert, when the people murmured because they found 
nothing to drink. And then you pass the well of Marah, of which 
the water was first bitter, but the children of Israel put therein a 
tree, and anon the water was sweet and good to drink. And then 
you go by the desert to the Vale of Elim, in which vale are twelve 
wells; and there are seventy- two palm-trees that bear the dates which 
Moses found with the children of Israel. And from that valley is 
but a good day's journey to Mount Sinai. 

And those who will go by another way from Babylon go by the 
Red Sea, which is an arm of the ocean. There Moses passed with 
the children of Israel across the sea all dry, when Pharaoh, King of 
Egypt, pursued him. That sea is about six miles broad. That sea 
is not redder than other seas; but in some places the gravel is red, 
and therefore they call it the Red Sea. That sea runs to the borders 
of Arabia and Palestine, its extent being more than four days. Then 
we go by desert to the Vale of Elim, and thence to Mount Sinai. 
And you must know that by this desert no man may go on horse- 
back, because there is neither meat for horses nor water to drink; 
wherefore they pass that desert with camels. For the camel rinds 
always, food in trees and on bushes, and he can abstain from drink 
two or three days, which no horse can do. 

From Babylon to Mount Sinai is twelve good days' journey, and 
some make it more; and some haste them, and thus make it less. 
And men always find interpreters to go with them in the countries, 
and further beyond, until they know the language. Travelers 
must carry with them victuals and other necessaries sufficient to last 
through those deserts. 
Mount Sinai is called the Desert of Sin, that is to say, the burn 



OF SIR JOHtf MAUOTEVILLE, KT. 35 

ing bush; because there Moses saw our Lord God many times in 
form of fire burning upon that- hill, and also in a burning bush, and 
spake to him. And that was at the foot of the hill. There is an 
abbey of monks, well built and well closed with gates of iron for 
fear of wild beasts. 'The monks are Arabians or Greeks; and there 
is a great convent, and they are all as hermits, and drink no wine 
except on principal feasts; they are very devout men, and live in 
poverty and simplicity on gourds and dates, and perform great ab- 
stinence and penance. 

Here is the Church of St. Catharine, in which are many lamps 
burning, for they have enough oil of olives both to burn in their 
lamps, and to eat also, which plenty they have by God's miracle; 
for the ravens, crows, and choughs, and other fowls of that coun- 
try, assemble there once every year, and fly thither as in pilgrimage; 
and each brings a branch of bays or olive in its beak, instead of 
offering, and leaves it there; of which the monks make great plenty 
of oil; and this is a great marvel. And since fowls that have no 
natural knowledge or reason go thither to seek that glorious Virgin, 
well moie ought men to seek her and worship her. Behind the altar 
of that church is the place where Moses saw our Lord God in a 
burning bush. When the monks enter that place they always put 
off both hose and shoes or boots, because our Lord said to Moses, 
■ ' Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou 
standest is holy ground. " And the monks call that place Bezeleel, 
that is, the shadow of God. 

Beside the high altar, raised on three steps, is the chest of alabaster 
containing the bones of St. Catharine, and the prelate of the monks 
shows the relics to the pilgrims, and rubs the bones with an instru- 
ment of silver, whereupon there issues a little oil, as though it were 
a kind of sweating, which is neither like oil nor balm, but is very 
sweet of smell; and of that they give a little to the pilgrims, for 
there issues but a small quantity of the liquor. They next show the 
head of St. Catharine, and the cloth that she was wrapped in, which 
is still all bloody. And in that same cloth, so wrapped, the angels 
bore her body to Mount Sinai, and there buried her with it. They 
also show the bush which burned and was not consumed, in which 
our Lord spake to Moses; and they have many other relics. 

When the prelate of the abbey is dead, I have been informed 
that his lamp becomes extinguished. And when they choose another 
prelate, if he be a good man and worthy to be prelate, his lamp will 
light by the grace of God, without being touched by any man. For 
every one of them has a lamp for himself, and by their lamps they 



36 THE VOYAGES AND TRAVELS 

know well when any of them shall die, for then the light begins to 
change and wax dim. And if he be 'chosen to be prelate, anc 1 it is 
not worthy, his lamp immediately goes out. Other men have told 
me that he that sings the mass for the prelate that is dead finds 
written upon the altar the name of him that shall be chosen prelate. 
One day I asked several of the monks how this befell. But they 
would not tell me, until I said that they ought not to hide the grace 
that God did them, but that they should publish it, to make the peo- 
ple have the more devotion, and that they sinned in hiding God's 
miracle, as appeared to me. And then they told me that it so hap- 
pened often; but more I might not have of them. 

In that abbey no flies, toads, or lizards, or such foul venomous 
beasts, nor lice, nor fleas, ever enter, by the miracle of God and of 
our Lady; for there were wont to be so many such kind of pests, 
that the monks were resolved to leave the place, and were gone 
thence to the mountain above, to eschew that place. But our Lady 
came to them and bade them return; and since that time such vermin 
have never entered in any place amongst them, nor never shall enter 
hereafter. Before the gate is the well where Moses smote the stone 
from which the water came out abundantly. 

From that abbey you go up the mountain of Moses by many 
steps; and there is, first, a church of our Lady where she met the 
monks when they fled away from the vermin just mentioned; and 
higher up the mountain-is the chapel of Elijah the prophet, which 
place they call Horeb, whereof Holy Writ speaks, " And he went in 
the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights, unto Horeb the 
mount of God, ' ' And close by is the vine that St. John the Evangelist 
planted; and a little above is the chapel of Moses, and the rock 
where Moses fled for dread when he saw our Lord face to face. And 
in that rock is imprinted the form of his body; for he threw himself 
so strongly and so hard on that rock that all his body was buried into 
it, through the miracle of God And near it is the place where our 
Lord gave to Moses the ten commandments of the law. And under 
the rock is the cave where Moses dwelt when he fasted forty days 
and forty nights. 

And from that mountain you pass a great valley, to go to another 
mountain, where St. Catharine was buried by the angels of oui 
Lord; in which valley is a church of forty martyrs, where .the 
monks of the abbey often sing. That valley is very cold. Next 
you go up the mountain of St. Catharine, which is higher than the 
mount of Moses; and there, where St. Catharine was buried, is 
neither church nor chapel, nor other dwelling-place; but there is a 



OF SIR JOHN MAUNDEVILLE, KT. 37 

heap of stones about the place where her bodj^ was placed by the 
angels. There was formerly a chapel there, but it was cast down, 
and the stones lie still scattered about. And although the Collect of 
St. Catharine says that it is the place where our Lord gave the ten 
commandments to Moses, and where the blessed virgin St. Catharine 
was buried, we are to understand this as meaning that it is the same 
country, or in a place bearing the same name; for both hills are 
called the Mount of Sinai; but it is a great way from one to the 
other, and a great deep valley lies between them. 



CHAPTER VI. 

OF THE DESERT BETWEEN THE CHURCH OF ST. CATHARINE AND 
JERUSALEM. — OF THE DRY TREE; AND HOW ROSES FIRST CAME 
INTO THE WORLD. 

After people have visited these holy places, they proceed toward 
Jerusalem, having taken leave of the monks and recommended 
themselves to their prayers. And then the monks give the pilgrims 
victuals to pass the desert toward Syria, which desert extends full 
thirteen days' journey. In that desert dwell many of the Arabians, 
who are called Bedouins and Ascopardes, who are people full of all 
evil conditions, having no houses, but tents, which they make of 
the skins of camels and other beasts that they eat; and under these 
they sleep and dwell, in places where they can find water, as on the 
Red Sea or elsewhere; for in that desert there is great want of water, 
and il often happens that where men find water at one time in a 
place, there is none at another time; and for that reason they make 
no habitations there. 

These people do not till the ground nor labor; for they eat no 
bread, except it be those who dwell near a good town, who go 
thither and eat bread sometimes. They roast their flesh and fish on 
the hot stones in the sun; and they are strong and warlike men, and 
there is so great a multitude of them that they are without number. 
Their only occupation is to hunt animals for their food. They care 
not for their lives, and therefore they fear not the sultan nor any 
other prince; but dare to war with all princes who do the many griev- 
ance; and they are often at war with the sultan, as they were at 
the time I was with him. They carry but one shield and one spear, 
without other arms; they wrap their heads and necks with a great 
quantity of white linen cloth, and they are right felonious and foul, 
and of a cursed nature. 



38 THE VOYAGES AND TKAVELS 

When you pass this desert, on the way to Jerusalem, you come to 
Beersheba, which was formerly a very fair and pleasant town of the 
Christians, some of whose churches still remain. In that town 
Abraham the Patriarch dwelt a long time. It was founded by 
Beersheba (Bathsheba), the wife of Sir Uriah, the knight, on whom 
King David begat Solomon the Wise, who was king, after David, 
over the twelve tribes of Jerusalem, and reigned forty years. From 
thence we go to the city of Hebron, a distance of two good miles; it 
was formerly called the Vale of Mamre, and sometimes the Vale of 
Tears, because Adam wept there a hundred years for the death of 
Abel, his son, whom Cain slew. 

Hebron was the principal city of the Philistines, and was inhabited 
some time by giants. And it was a sacerdotal city, that is, a sanct- 
uary, of the tribe of Judah; and was so free, that all manner of 
fugitives from. other places for their evil deeds, were received there. 
In Hebron Joshua, Calephe, and their company, came first to espy 
how they might win the land of promise. Here King David: first 
reigned, seven years and a half; and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty- 
three years and a half. In Hebron are all the sepulchers of the 
patriarchs, Adam, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and their wives Eve, 
Sarah, Rebecca, and Leah; which sepulchers the Saracens keep very 
carefully, for they hold the place in great reverence, on account of 
the holy fathers, the patriarchs, that lie there. And they suffer no 
Christian to enter that place, except by special grace of the sultan; 
for Ihey hold Christians and Jews as dogs, and say that they should 
not enter into so holy a place, And they call that place where they 
lie Double Spelunk, or Double Cave, or Double Ditch, because the 
one lies above the other And the Saracens call the place in their 
language Karicarba, that is, the Place of Patriarchs. The Jews call 
it Arbothe. 

And in that same place was Abraham's house, and there he sat 
and saw three persons, and worshiped but one: as Holy Writ saith, 
He saw three and worshiped one ; and at the same place Abraham re- 
ceived the angels into his house. Close by that place is a cave in 
the rock, where Adam and Eve dwelt when they were put out 
of Paradise, and there they begat their children. And in that same 
place was Adam formed and made, as some men say; for they used 
to call that place the Field of Damascus, because it was in the lord- 
ship of Damascus. And from thence he was translated into Para- 
dise, as they say; and after he was driven out of Paradise he was 
left there. 

Here begins the Vale of Hebron, which extends nearly to Jerusa- 



OP SIR JOHN MAUNDEVILLE, KT. 39 

lem. There the t angel commanded Adam that he should dwell with 
his wife Eve, on whom he begat Seth, of which tribe Jesus Christ 
was bom. In that valley is a field where men draw out of the earth 
a thing they call cambylle, which they eat instead of spice, and they 
carry it to sell. And men may not make the hole where it is taken 
out of the earth so deep or wide, but at the year's end it is full again 
up to the sides, through the grace of God. 

Two miles from Hebron is the grave of Lot, Abraham's brother. 
And a little from Hebron is the mount of Mamre, from which the 
valley takes its name. And there is an oak-tree which the Saracens 
call dirpe, which is of Abraham s time; and people call it the dry 
tree. They say that it has been there since the beginning of the 
world, and that it was once green and bore leaves, till the time that 
our Lord died on the cross, and then it dried; and so did all the trees 
that were then in the world, And there is a prophecy, that a lord, a 
prince of the west side of the world, shall win the Land of Promise, 
that is, the Holy Land, with the help of the Christians; and he shall 
cause Mass to be performed under that dry tree, and then the tree 
shall become green and bear both fruit and leaves. And through that 
miracle many Saracens and Jews shall be converted to the Christian 
faith. And, therefore, they do great worship thereto, and guard it 
very sedulously. And although it be dry, still it has great virtue; 
for, certainly, he that hath a little thereof upon him, it heals him of 
the falling evil, and his horse shall not be afoundered; and many 
other virtues it hath, on account of which it is highly esteemed. 

From Hebron we proceed to Bethlehem, in half a day, for it is 
but five miles; and it is a very fair way, by pleasant plains and 
woods. Bethlehem is a little city, long and narrow, and well walled, 
and on each side inclosed with good ditches. It was formerly called 
Ephrata, as Holy Writ says, " Lo, we heard it at Ephrata." And 
toward the east end of the city is a very fair and handsome church, 
with many towers, pinnacles, and corners strongly and curiously 
made; and within are forty-four great and fair pillars of marble. 
And between the city and the church is the Field Floridus, that is 
to say, the field flourished; for a fair maiden was blamed with 
wrong, and slandered, that she had committed fornicatbn, for 
which cause she was condemned to be burned in that place; and as 
the fire began to burn about her, she made her prayers to our Lord, 
that as truly as she was not guilty, He would by His merciful grace 
help her, and make it known to all men. And when she had thus 
said, she entered into the fire, and immediately the fire was extin- 
guished, and the faggots that were burning became red rosebushes, 



40 THE YOYAGES AKD TKAYELS 

and those that were not kindled became white rosebushes, full of 
roses. And these were the first rose-trees and roses, bolh white and 
red, that ever any man saw. And thus was this maiden saved by 
the grace of God. And therefore is that field called the field that 
God flourished, for it was full of roses. 

Also near the choir of the church, at the right side, as men go 
down sixteen steps, is the place where our Lord was born; which is 
full well made of marble, and full richly painted with gold, silver, 
azure, and other colors. And three paces from it is the crib of the 
ox and the ass. And beside that is the place where the star fell, 
which led the three kings, Jaspar, Melchior, and Balthazar; but the 
Greeks call them Galgalathe, Malgalathe, and Saraphie; and the 
Jews call them in Hebrew Appelius, Amerrius, and Damasus. 
These three kings offered to our Lord gold, incense, and myrrh; 
and the}' met together by a miracle of God, for they met together in 
a city in India called Cassak, which is fifty-three days' from Beth- 
lehem, and yet they arrived at Bethlehem on the thirteenth day, 
which was the fourth day after they had seen the star, when they 
met in that city; and thus they were nine days from that city to 
Bethlehem; and that was a great miracle. 

Also, under the cloister of the church, by ei ghteen steps at the 
right side, is the charnel-house of the Innocents, where their bones 
lie. And before the place where our Lord was born is the tomb of 
St. Jerome, who was a priest and cardinal,, and translated the Bible 
and Psalter from Hebrew into Latin; and without the church is the 
chair that he sat in when he translated it. And close by that church, 
at a distance of sixty fathoms, is a church of St. Nicholas, where 
our Lady rested after she was delivered of our Lord. And foras- 
much as she had too much milk in her breasts, which grieved her, 
she milked them on the red stones of marble; so that the traces 
may yet be seen all white in the stones. 

And you must understand that all who dwell in Bethlehem are 
Christians. And there are fair vineyards about the city, and great 
plenty of wine, which the Christians make. 

But the Saracens neither cultivate vines nor drink wine; for their 
books of their law, that Mohammed gave them, which they call 
their Alkoran, (and some call it Mesaphe, and in another language 
it is called Harme), forbids them to drink wine. For in that book 
Mohammed cursed all who drink wine, and all who sell it. For 
some men say that he slew once a hermit, whom he loved much, in 
his drunkenness; and therefore he cursed wine and them that drink 
it. And also, the Saracens breed no pigs and they eat no swine's 






OF SIR JOHNS' MAUtfDEYILLE, KT. 41 



flesh, for they say it is brother to man, and it was forbidden by the 
old law; and they hold all accursed who eat thereof. Also in the 
land of Palestine and in the land of Egypt^ they eat but little or no 
veal or beet, except when the animal is old, that he may work no 
more; for it is forbidden, because they have but few of them, and 
they keep them to plow their lands. In this city of Bethlehem 
was David the king born, and he had sixty ^ives; and the first wife 
was called Michal; and also he had three hundred concubines. 

From Bethlehem to Jerusalem it is but two miles. And in the 
way to Jerusalem, half a mile from Bethlethem, is a church, where 
the angels announced to the shepherds the birth of Christ. And in 
that way is the tomb of Rachel, the mother of Joseph the patriarch, 
who died immediately after she was delivered of her son Benjamin; 
and there she was buried by Jacob, her husband, and he caused twelve 
great stones to be placed over her, in token that she had tjorne twelve 
children. In the same way, half a mile from Jerusalem, the star 
appeared to the three kings. In that way also are many churches 
of Christians, by which men go towards the city of Jerusalem. 



CHAPTER Vn. 

OF THE PILGRIMAGES IN JERUSALEM, AND OF THE HOLY PLACES 
THEREABOUT. 

Jerusalem, the holy city, stands full fair between hills; and 
there are no rivers or wells, but water comes by conduit from. Heron. 
And you must know that Jerusalem of old, until the time of Mel- 
chisedek, was called Jebus; and afterward it was called Salem, until 
the time of King David, who put these two names together, and 
called it Jebusalem; and after that King Solomon called it Jeroso- 
luma; and after that it was called Jerusalem, and so it is called still. 
Around Jerusalem is the kingdom of Syria; and there beside is the 
land of Palestine; and beside it is Ascalon; and beside that is the 
land of Maritaine. 

But Jerusalem is in the land of Judea; and it is called Judea, be- 
cause Judas Maccabeus was king of that country. And it borders 
eastward on the kingdom of Arabia; to the south, on the land of 
Egypt; to the west, on the great sea; and to the north, toward Syria, 
on the sea of Cyprus. In Jerusalem was formerly a patriarch, with 
archbishops and bishops about in the country. Around Jerusalem 
are these cities : Hebron, seven miles; Jericho, six miles; Beersheba, 



42 THE VOYAGES AND TRAVELS 

eight miles; Ascalon, seventeen miles; Jaffa, sixteen miles; Ramatha, 
three miles; and Bethlehem, two miles. And two miles from Beth- 
lehem, toward the south t is the church of St. Karitot, who was abbot 
there; for whom they made great lamentation among the monks 
when he died; and they continue still in mourning in the manner 
that they made their lamentation for him the first time; and it is 
very sad to behold. 

This country and land of Jerusalem hath been in the hands of 
many different nations, and often therefore hath the country suffered 
much tribulation for the sin of the people that dwell there. For that 
country hath been in the hands of all nations; that is to say, of 
Jews, Canaanites, Assyrians, Persians, Medes, Macedonians, Greeks, 
Romans, Christians, Saracens, Barbarians, Turks, Tartars, and of 
many other different nations; for God will not let it remain long in 
the hands of traitors or of sinners, be they Christians or others. 
And now the heathens have held that land in their hands forty years 
and more; but they shall not hold it long, if God will. 

When men come to Jerusalem, their first pilgrimage is to the 
Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where our Lord was buried, which 
is without the city on the north side; but it is now inclosed by the 
town wall. And there is a very fair church, round, and open 
above, and covered in its circuit with lead; and on the west side is 
a fair and high tower for bells, strongly made; and in the middle 
of the church is a tabernacle, as it were a little house, made with a 
little low door; and that tabernacle is made in manner of half a 
compass, right curiously and richly made of gold and azure and 
other rich colors. 

And in the right side of that tabernacle is the sepulcher of our 
Lord; and the tabernacle is eight feet long, and five wide, and 
eleven in height; and it is not long since the sepulcher was all open, 
that men might kiss it and touch it. But because pilgrims that 
came thither labored to break the stone in pieces or in powder, there- 
fore the sultan has caused a wall to be made round the sepulcher, 
that no man may touch it. 

In the left side of the wall of the tabernacle, about the height of 
a man, is a great stone, the magnitude of a man's head, that was 
of the holy sepulcher; and that stone the pilgrims come thither 
kiss. In that tabernacle are no windows; but it is all made light 
with lamps which hang before the sepulcher. And there is one lamp 
which hangs before the sepulcher which burns bright; and on Good 
Friday it goes out of itself, and lights again by itself at the hour 



OF SIR JOHN MATODEVILLE, KT. 43 

that our Lord rose from the dead. Also, within the church, at the 
right side, near the choir of the church, is Mount Calvary, where 
our Lord was placed on the cross. It is a rock of a white color, a 
little mixed with red; and the cross was set in a mortise in the same 
rock; and on that rock dropped the blood from the wounds of our 
Lord when he was punished on the cross; and that is called Gol- 
gotha. And they go up to that Golgotha by steps; and in the place 
of that mortise Adam's head was found, after Noah's flood, in token 
that the sins of Adam should be redeemed in that same place. And 
upon that rock Abraham made sacrifice to our Lord. 

And there is an altar, before which lie Godfrey de Boulogne and 
Baldwin, and other Christian kings of Jerusalem; and near where 
our Lord was crucified is this written in Greek: ' '0 Qedg Baai hevg 
rifxdv Ttfjo aldvQV elpyuaaTO aurripiav ev fieou rfjc yrjg' " — that is to say, 
in Latin, " Deus rex noster ante secula operaius est salutem in medio 
terra ;" in English, " God our king, before the worlds, hath 
wrought salvation in the midst of the earth." And also on the 
rock where the cross was set are written, within the rock, these 
words: "0 eldeic, earl (3dcte rfjc ttlgteuc olrjQ rov xoofj,ov tovtov" — that 
is to say, in Latin, " Quod vides, est fundamentum totiws fidei hujus 
mundi:" in English, "What thou seest is the ground of all the 
faith of this world." And you shall understand that when our 
Lord was placed on the cross he was thirty-three years and three 
months old. 

Also, within Mount Calvary, on the right side, is an altar, where 
the pillar lieth to which our Lord Jesus was bound when he was 
scourged; and there, besides, are four pillars of stone that always 
drop water; and some men say that they weep for our Lord's death. 
Near that altar is a place under earth, forty-two steps in depth, 
where the holy cross was found by the wisdom of St. Helena, under 
a rock where the Jews had hid it. And thus was the true cross 
assayed; for they found three crosses, one > of our Lord, and two of 
the two thieves; and St. Helena placed a dead body on them, which 
arose from death to life when it was laid on that on which our Lord 
died. And thereby, in the wall, is the place where the four nails 
of our Lord were hid; for he had two in his hands and two in his 
feet; and of one of these the Emperor of Constantinople made a bridle 
to his horse to carry him in battle; and through virtue thereof he 
overcame his enemies, and won all the land of Lesser Asia, that is- 
to say, Turkey, Armenia the Less and the Greater, and from Syria 
to Jerusalem, from Arabia to Persia, from Mesopotamia to the 
kingdom of Aleppo, from Upper and Lower Egypt, and al). the 



44 THE VOYAGES AKD TRAVELS 

other kingdoms, unto the extremity of Ethiopia, and into India the 
Less, that was then Christian. 

And there were, in that time, many good holy men, and holy 
hermits, of whom the Book of Lives of Fathers speaks; but they 
are now in the hands of .Pagans and Saracens. But when God 
Almighty will, as the lands were lost through sin of the Christians, 
so shall they be won again by Christians through help of God. 
And in the midst of that church is a compass, in which Joseph of 
Arimathea laid the body of our Lord when he had taken Him down 
from the cross; and there he washed the wounds of our Lord. And 
that compass, men say, is the middle of the world. 

And in the Church of the Sepulcher, on the north side, is the place 
where our Lord was put in prison (for He was in prison in many 
places); and there is a part of the chain with which He was bound; 
and there He appeared first to Mary Magdalene when He was risen, 
and she thought that He had been a gardener. In the Church of 
St. Sepulcher there were formerly canons of the order of St. 
Augustin, who had a prior, but the patriarch was their head. And 
outside the doors of the church, on the right side, as men go up- 
ward eighteen steps, is the spot where our Lord said to His mother, 
" "Woman, behold thy son!" And after that He said to John, His 
disciple, " Behold thy mother!" And these words he said on the 
cross. 

And on these steps went our Lord when He bare the cross on his 
shoulder. And under these steps is a chapel; and in that chapel 
sing priests of India, not after our law, but after theirs; and they 
always make their sacrament of the altar, saying Pater noster, and 
other prayers therewith, with which prayers, they say the words 
that the sacrament is made of; for they know not the additions that 
many popes have made; but they sing with good devotion. And 
near there is the place where our Lord rested Him when He was 
weary for bearing of the cross. Before the Church of the Sepulcher 
the city is weaker than in any other part, for the great plain that is 
between the church and the city. 

And toward the east side, without the walls of the city, is the 
vale of Jehoshaphat, which adjoins to the walls as though it were a 
large ditch. And over against that vale of Jehoshaphat, out of the 
city, is the Church of St. Stephen, where he was stoned to death, 
And there beside is the golden gate, which may not be opened, by 
which gate our Lord entered on Palm- Sunday, upon an ass; and 
the gate opened to Him, when He would go unto the temple- and 
the marks of the ass's feet are still seen in three places on the steps, 



OP SIR JOHX MAJJNDEYILLE, KT. 45 

which are of very hard stone. Before the Church of St. Sepulcher, 
two hundred paces to the south, is the great hospital of St. John, 
of which the Hospitalers had their foundation. And within the 
palace of the sick men of that hospital are one hundred and twenty- 
four pillars of stone; and in the walls of the house, besides the 
number aforesaid, there are fifty-four pillars that support the 
house. From that hospital, going toward the east, is a very fair 
church, which is called Our Lady the Great; and after it there is 
another church, very near, called our Lady the Latin; and there 
stood Mary Cleophas and Man- Magdalene, and tore their hair, 
when our Lord was executed on the cross. 



CHAPTER Vni. 

OF THE TEMPLE OF OUR LORD; THE CRUELTY OF KING HEROD; 
MOLNT SION; OF PROBATICA PISCINA, AND NATATORICM SILO.E. 

One hundred and sixly paces from the Church of the Sepulcher, 
toward the east, is the temple of our Lord. It is a very fair house, 
circular and lofty, and covered with lead, and well paved with 
white marble, but the Saracens will not suffer any Christians or 
Jews to come therein, for they say that no such foul sinful men 
should come into so holy a place; but I went in there, and in other 
places where I would, because I had letters of the sultan, with his 
great seal, and other men have commonly but his signet. 

In these letters he commanded, of his special grace, to all his 
subjects, to let me see all the places, and to inform me fully of all 
the mysteries of every place, and to conduct me from city to city if 
necessary, and to receive me and my company courteously, and 
obey all my reasonable requests if they were not contrary to the 
royal power and dignity of the sultan or of his law. And to others, 
who have served him and ask him grace, he gives only his signet, 
which they cause to be borne before them, hanging on a spear, and 
the people of the country do great worship and reverence to his 
signet or his seal, and kneel thereto as lowly as we do to the proces- 
sion of the Host. But they show much greater reverence to his 
letters, for the admiral, and all other lords to whom they are shown, 
kneel down before they receive them, and then they take them and 
put them on their heads, and after they kiss them, and then they 
read them, kneeling with great reverence; and then they offer 
themselves to do all the bearer asks. And in this temple of our 



46 THE VOYAGES AKD TRAVEL^ 

Lord were formerly canons regular, who had an abbot to whom 
they were obedient. 

You must know that this is not the temple that Solomon made, 
which lasted only one thousand one hundred and two years. For 
Titus, the son of Vespasian, Emperor of Rome, had laid siege about 
Jerusalem to overcome the Jews, because they put our Lord to 
death without the emperor's leave. And when he had won the city 
he burned the temple and beat it down and all the city, and took the 
Jews, and put to death one million one hundred thousand of them; 
and the othei s he put in prison, and sold them to slavery, thirty for 
a penny, because they said they bought Jesus for thirty pennies; 
and he sold them cheaper, giving thirty for one penny. 

After that Julian the Apostate, when emperor, gave the Jews per- 
mission to make the temple of Jerusalem, for he hated the Chris- 
tians, although he had been christened; but he forsook his law, and 
became a renegade. And when the Jews had made the temple an 
earthquake came and cast it down (as God would), and destroyed all 
that they had made. And after that, Hadrian, who was Emperor 
of Rome, and of the lineage of Troy, rebuilt Jerusalem and the 
temple, in the same manner as Solomon made it. And he would 
not suffer Jews to dwell there, but only Christians. For although 
he was not christened, yet he loved Christians more than any 
other nation, except his own. This emperor caused the- Church of 
St. Sepulcher to be inclosed within the city walls; before, it was 
without the city. And he would have changed the name of Jeru- 
salem, and called it JElia,, but that name lasted not long. 

The Saracens continue to show much reverence to that temple, and 
say that the place is very holy. And when they go in they go 
barefooted, and kneel many times. And when my fellows and I 
saw that, when we came in we took off our shoes, and entered bare- 
footed, and thought we would do as much worship and reverence 
there as any of the misbelieving men, with as great compunction 
of heart. This temple is sixty-four cubits wide, and as many in 
length, and a hundred and twenty cubits high; and within it has 
pillars of marble all round; and in the middle of the temple are 
many high stages, fourteen steps high, with good pillars all about, 
and this place the Jews call the Holy of holies. No man, except 
the Prelate of the Saracens, who makes their sacrifice, is allowed to 
come in there. And the people stand all about, in divers stages, 
according to their dignity, or rank, so that they may all see the 
sacrifice. 

And in that temple are four entrances, with gates of cypress, well 



OF SIR JOHN" MAUNDEVILLE, KT. 47 

made and curiously wrought. Within the east gate is the place 
where our Lord said, " Here is Jerusalem." And on the north side 
of the temple, within the gate, there is a well, but it does not run; 
of this Holy Writ speaks, and says, " I saw water come out of the 
temple. " And on the other side of the temple there is a rock which 
men call Moria, but after it was called Bethel, where the ark of 
God, with relics of Jews, was wont to be put. 

That ark or hutch, with the relics, Titus carried with him to 
Rome, when he had overthrown the Jews; it contained the ten 
commandments, Aaron's rod, and that of Moses, with which he 
made the Red Sea divide as it had been a wall, on the right side and 
on the left, while the people of Israel passed the sea dry- foot. And 
with that rod he smote the rock, and the water came out of it; and 
with that rod he did many other wonders. 

And therein was a vessel of gold, full of manna, and clothings, 
and ornaments, and the tabernacle of Aaron, and a square taber 
nacle of gold, with twelve precious stones, and a box of green 
jasper, with four figures, and eight names of our Lord, and seven 
candlesticks of gold, and twelve pots of gold, and four censers of 
gold, and an altar of gold, and four lions of gold, which bare cheru- 
bim of gold twelve spans long, and the circle of swans of heaven, 
with a tabernacle of gold, and a table of silver, and two trumpets of 
silver, and seven barley loaves, and all the other relics that were be- 
fore the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

And Jacob was sleeping upon that rock when he saw the angels 
go up and down by a ladder, and he said, " Surely the Lord is in 
this place; and I knew it not." And there an angel held Jacob 
still, and changed his name, and called him Israel. And in that 
same place David saw the angel that smote the people with a sword, 
and put it up bloody in the sheath. And St. Simeon was on that 
same rock when he received our Lord into the temple. And in this 
rock he placed himself when the Jews would have stoned him; and 
a star came down and gave him light. On that rock our Lord 
preached frequently to the people, and out of that same temple our 
Lord drove the buyers and sellers. Upon that rock also our Lord 
sat Him when the Jews would have stoned Him; and the rock clave 
in two, and in that cleft was our Lord hid; and there came down a 
star and gave Him light; and upon that rock our Lady sat and 
learned her Psalter; and there our Lord forgave the woman her 
sins that was found in adultery; and there our Lord was circum- 
cised; and there the angel gave tidings to Zacharias of the birth of 
St. John the Baptist, his son; and there first Melchizedek offered 



48 THE VOYAGES AND TRAVELS 

bread and wine to our Lord, in token of the sacrament that was to 
come; and there David fell down praying to our Lord, and to the 
angel that smote the people, that He would have mercy on him and 
on the people; and our Lord heard his prayer, and therefore would 
He make the temple in that place; but our Lord forbade him, 
by an angel, because he had done treason when he caused Uriah, the 
worthy knight, to be slain, to have Bathsheba, his wife; and there- 
fore all the materials he had collected for the building of the temple 
he gave to Solomon, his son, and he built it. 

Without the gate of that temple is an altar, where the Jews were 
wont to offer doves and turtles. And between the temple and that 
altar was Zacharias slain. Upon the pinnacle of that temple was 
our Lord brought to be tempted by the fiend. And on the top of 
thaf pinnacle the Jews placed St. James, who was first bishop of 
Jerusalem, and cast him down to the earth. At the entry of the 
temple, toward the west, is the gate that is called the Beautiful 
Gate. And near the temple, on the right, is a church covered with 
lead, called Solomon's school. And near the temple, on the south, 
is the temple of Solomon, which is very fair and well polished. 
And in that temple dwelt the knights of the temple, that were 
called Templars; and that was the foundation of their order; so 
that knights dwelt there, and canons regular, in the temple of our 
Lord. 

One hundred and twenty paces from that temple to the east, in 
the corner of the city, is the bath of our Lord; and in that bath 
water was wont to come from Paradise, and still it droppeth. And 
there beside is our Lady's bed. And fast by is the temple of St. 
Simeon; and without the cloister of the temple, toward the north, 
is a very fair church of St. Anne, our Lady's mother; and there 
our Lady was conceived. And before that church is a great tree, 
which began to grow the same night. And under that church, in 
going down by twenty-two steps, lies Joachim, our Lady's father, 
in a fair tomb of stone; and there beside lay sometime St. Anne, his 
wife; but St. Helena caused her to be translated to Constantinople. 
And in that church is a well, in manner of a cistern, which is called 
Probatica Piscina, which hath five entrances. Angels used to come 
from heaven into that well and bathe them in it, and the man who 
first bathed after the moving of the water, was made whole of what- 
ever sickness he had; and there our Lord healed a man of the palsy, 
with which he had lain thirty-eight years; and our Lord said t 
him, " Take up thy bed and go." 

And near it was Pilate's house. And fast by is King Herod's 



OE SIR JOHK MAUNDEVILLE, KT. 49 

house, who caused the Innocents to be slain. This Herod was ex- 
cessively wicked and cruel; for first he caused his wife to be killed, 
whom he loved well; and for the great love he had to her, when he 
saw her dead, he fell in a rage, and was out of his mind a great 
while; and after he recovered, he caused his two sons, whom he 
had by that wife, to be slain; and after that he killed another of his 
wives, and a son that he had by her; and after that he put to death 
his own mother, and he would have slain his brother also, but he 
died suddenly. And after he fell into sickness, and when he felt 
that he should die, he sent for his sister and for all the lords of 
his land, and he sent them to prison; and then he said to his 
sister, he knew well that people would make no sorrow for his 
death, and therefore he made his sister swear that she should cause 
all the heads of the lords to be struck off when he was dead, that 
all the land might make sorrow for his death. But his sister ful- 
filled not his will; for as soon as he was dead she delivered all the 
lords out of prison, and told them all the purpose of her brother's 
ordinance; and so this cursed king was never made sorrow for. 
And you must know that at that time there were three Herods, of 
great fame for their cruelty. This Herod of which I have spoken 
was Herod the Ascalonite: and he that caused St. John the Baptist 
to be beheaded was Herod Antipas; and he that caused St. James to 
be beheaded was Herod Agrippa; and he put St. Peter in prison. 

Furthermore, in the city is the Church of St. Saviour, where is 
preserved the left arm of John Chrysostom, and the greater part of 
the head of St. Stephen. On the other side of the street, to the 
south, as men go to Mount Sion, is a church of Si . James, where 
he was beheaded. . And one hundred and twenty paces from that 
church is Mount Sion, where there is a fair church of our Lady, 
where she dwelt and died. And there was formerly an abbot of 
canons regular. From thence she was carried by the apostles to 
the valley of Jenoshaphat, and there is the stone which the angel 
brought to our Lady from Mount Sinai, which is of the same color 
as the rock of St. Catharine. And near there is the gate through 
which our Lady passed, when she was with child, on her way to 
Bethelehem. Also, at the entrance of Mount Sion is a chapel in 
which is the great stone with which the sepulcher Was covered, when 
Joseph of Arimathea had put our Lord therein; which stone the 
three Marys saw turned upward when they came to His sepulcher 
the day of His resurrection; and there they found an angel, who told 
them of our Lord's resurrection from death to life. 

There also, in a wall beside the gate, is a stone of. the pillar at 



•■' 



50 THE VOYAGES AKD TRAVELS 

which our Lord was scourged, and there was the house of Annas, 
who was bishop of the Jews at that time; and there our Lord 
was examined in the night, and scourged, and smitten, 
and violently treated. In that same place St. Peter forsook our 
Lord thrice before the cock crew. There is a part of the table 
on which He made His Supper, when He made His Maundy with 
His disciples, and gave them His flesh and His blood, in form of 
•bread and wine. And under that chapel . by a descent of thirty-two 
steps, is the place where our Lord washed His disciples' feet, and 
the vessel which contained the water is still preserved; and there, 
beside that same vessel, was St. Stephen buried. And there is the 
altar where our Lord heard the angels sing Mass. And there our 
Lord appeared first to His disciples after His resurrection, the doors 
being shut, and said to them, " Peace to you!" And on that Mount 
Christ appeared to St. Thomas the Apostle, and bade him feel His 
wounds; and there he first believed, and said, " My Lord and my 
God." In the same church, beside the altar, were all the apostles 
on Whitsunday, when the Holy Ghost descended on them in like- 
ness of fire. 

Mount Sion is within the city, and is a little higher than the other 
side of the city; and the city is strongest on that side. For at the 
foot of Mount Sion is a fair and strong castle made by the sultan. 
In Mount Sion were buried King David and King Solomon, and 
many other Jewish kings of Jerusalem. And there is the place 
where the Jews would have cast up the body of our Lady, when 
the apostles carried the body to be buried in the Valley of Jehosha- 
phat. And there is the place where St. Peter wept bitterly after he 
had forsaken our Lord. And a stone's cast from that chapel is an- 
other chapel, where our Lord was judged; for at that time the 
house of Caiaphas stood there. 

One hundred and forty paces from that chapel, to the east, is a 
deep cave under the rock, which is called the Galilee of our Lord, 
where St. Peter hid himself when he had forsaken our Lord. Be- 
tween Mount Sion and the Temple of Solomon is the place where 
our Lord raised the maiden in her father's house'. Under Mount 
Sion, toward the Valley of Jehoshaphat, is a well called Natatorium 
Siloa? (the pool of Siloah), where our Lord was washed after His 
baptism; and there our Lord made the blind man to see. There was 
buried Isaiah the prophet. Also straight from Natatorium Siloae is 
an image of stone, and of ancient work, which Absalom caused to 
be made, on account of which they call it Ihe hand of Absalom. 

And fast by. is still the elder tree on which Judas hanged himself 



OF SIE JOHN MAUNDEYILLE, KT. 51 

for despair, when he sold and betrayed our Lord. Near it was the 
synagogue, where the bishops of the Jews and the Pharisees came 
together and held their council, and where Judas cast the thirty 
pence before them, and said that he had sinned in betraying our 
Lord. And near it was the house of the apostles Philip and James 
the son of Alpheus. On the other side of Mount Sion, toward the 
south, a stone's cast beyond the vale, is Aceldama, that is, the field 
of blood, which was bought for the thirty pence for which our Lord 
was sold; in which field are many tombs of Christians; for there 
are many pilgrims' graves. And there are many oratories, chapels, 
and hermitages, where hermits used to dwell. A hundred paces 
toward the east is the charnel-house of the Hospital of St. John, 
where they used to put the bones of dead men. 

To the west of Jerusalem is a fair church, where the tree of the 
cross grew. And two miles from thence is a handsome church, 
where our Lady met with Elizabeth, when they were both with 
child; and St. John stirred in his mother's womb, and made rever- 
ence to his Creator, whom he saw not. Under the altar of that 
church is the place were St. John was born. A mile from that 
church is the castle of Emmaus, where our Lord showed Himself to 
two of His disciples after His resurrection. Also on the other side, 
two hundred paces from Jerusalem, is a church, where was formerly 
the cave of the lion; and under that church, at thirty steps deep, 
were interred twelve thousand martyrs, in the time of King 
Cosrhoes, that the lion met in a night, by 1he will of God. 

Two miles from Jerusalem is Mount Joy, a very fair and deli- 
cious place. There Samuel the prophet lies, in a fair tomb; and it 
is called Mount Joy, because it gives joy to pilgrims' hearts, for 
from that place men first see Jerusalem. Between Jerusalem and 
Mount Olivet is the Yalley of Jehoshaphat, under the walls of the 
city as I ha^e said before; and in the middle of the valley is a little 
river, which is called the brook Cedron; and across it lies a tree (of 
which the cross was made), on which men passed over; and fast by 
it is a little pit in the earth, where the foot of the pillar still remains 
at which our Lord was first scourged; for He was scourged and 
shamefully treated in many places. 

Also in the middle of the Valley of Jehoshaphat is the Church of 
our Lady, which is forty-three steps below the sepulcher of our 
Lady, who was seventy-two years of age when she died. Beside the 
sepulcher of our Lady is an altar, where our Lord forgave St. Peter 
all his sins. From thence, toward the west, under an altar, is a 
well which comes out of the river of Paradise. You must know 



52 THE VOYAGES AKD TKAVELS 

that that church is very low in the earth, and a part is quite within 
the earth. But I imagine that it was not founded so; but since 
Jerusalem has often been destroyed, and the walls beaten down and 
tumbled into the valley, and that they have been so filled again, and 
the ground raised, for that reason the church is so low within the 
earth. Nevertheless, men say there commonly, that the earth hath 
so been cloven since the time that our Lady was buried there; and 
men also say there, that it grows and increases every da3 r , without 
doubt. 

In that church were formerly black monks, who had their abbot. 
Beside that church is a chapel, beside the rock called Gethsemane, 
where our Lord was kissed by Judas, and where He was taken by 
the Jews; and there our Lord left His disciples when He went to 
pray before His passion, when He prayed and said, ' ' O My Father, 
if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me. ' ' And when He came 
again to His disciples, He found them sleeping. And in the rock 
within the chapel we still see the mark of the fingers of our Lord's 
hand, when He put them on the rock when the Jews would have 
taken Him. And a stone's cast from thence, to the south, is another 
chapel, where our Lord sweat drops of blood. And close to it is the 
tomb of King Jehoshaphat, from whom the valley takes its name. 
This Jehoshaphat was king of that country, and was converted by 
a hermit, who was a worthy man, and did much- good. 

A bow-shot from thence, to the south, is the church where St. 
James and Zachariah the prophet were buried. Above the vale is 
Mount Olivet, so called for the abundance of olives that grow there. 
That mount is higher than the city of Jerusalem; and therefore 
from that mount we may see many of the streets of the city. Be- 
tween that mount and the city is only the Valley of Jehoshaphat, 
which is not wide. From that mount our Lord Jesus Christ as- 
cended to heaven on Ascension-day, and yet there appears the im- 
print of His left foot in the stone. And there is a church where 
were formerly an abbot and canons regular. 

About twenty-eight paces thence is a chapel, in which is the stone 
on the which our Lord sat when He preached the eight blessings 
And there He taught His disciples the Pater Xoster, and wrote with 
His finger on a stone. And near it is a church of St Mary, the 
Egyptian, where she lies in a tomb. Three bow-shots thence, to 
the east, is Bethphage, whither our Lord sent St. Peter and St. 
James on Palm Sunday to seek the ass on which he rode into Jeru- 
salem. In descending from Mount Olivet, to the east, is a castle 
called Bethany, where dwelt Simon the Leper; and there he en- 



OF SIR JOHK MATJNDEVILLE, KT. 53 

tertained our Lord; afterward he was baptized by the apostles, and 
was called Julian, and was made bishop, and this is the same Julian 
to whom men pray for good entertainment, because our Lord was 
entertained by him in his house. In that house our Lord forgave 
Mary Magdalene her sins, and there she washed His feet with her 
tears, and wiped them with her hair. And there St. Martha waited 
upon our Lord. There our Lo^d raised Lazarus, who was dead four 
days and stunk. There also dwelt Mary Cleophas. That castle is 
a mile from Jerusalem. 

Also in coming down from Mount Olivet is the place where our 
Lord wept upon Jerusalem. And there beside is the place where 
our Lady appeared to St. Thomas the Apostle after her assumption, 
and gave him her girdle. And very near it is the stone on which 
our Lord often sat when He preached; and upon that same shall 
He sit at the day of doom, right as He said Himself. 

After Mount Olivet is the Mount of Galilee, where the apostles 
assembled when Mary Magdalene came and told them of Christ's 
ascension. And there, between Mount Olivet and the Mount of 
Galilee, is a church, where the angel foretold our Lady of her death. 
We next go from Bethany to Jericho, which was once a little city, 
but it is now destroyed, and is but a little village. Joshua took that 
city by miracle of God, and destroyed it and cursed it, and all them 
that should build it again. Of that city was Zaccheus the dwarf, 
who climbed up into the sycamore-tree to see our Lord, because he 
was so little he might not see Him for the people. And of that city 
was Rahab. the harlot, who alone escaped with her kinspeopie; and 
she often refreshed and fed the messengers of Israel, and kept them 
from many great perils of death; and therefore she had good re- 
ward; as Holy Writ saith, " He that receiveth a prophet in the name 
of a prophet, shall receive a prophet's reward;" and so had she: 
for she prophesied to the messengers, saying, " I know that the 
Lord hath given you the land;" and so He did. 

From Bethany you go to the River Jordan, by a mountain, and 
through a desert; and it is nearly a day's journey from Bethany, 
toward the east, to a great hill, where our Lord fasted forty days. 
The devil carried our Lord upon that hill, and tempted Him, and 
said, "Command that these stones be made bread. " In that place, 
upon the hill, there was formerly a fair church, but it is entirely 
destroyed, so that there is now but a hermitage, occupied by a kind 
of Christians called Georgians, because St. George converted them. 
Upon that hill dwelt Abraham a long while; and therefore they 
call it Abraham's garden. Between the hill and this garden runs a 



54 THE YOYAGES AKD TRAVELS 

little brook of water, which was formerly bitter, but, when blessed 
by the Prophet Elisha, it became sweet and good to drink. At the 
foot of this hill toward the plain is a greal well, which flows into 
the River Jordan. From that hill to Jericho is but a mile, in going 
toward the River Jordan, which is two miles beyond it; and half a 
mile nearer is a fair church of St. John the Baptist, where he bap- 
tized our Lord; and there beside is the house of Jeremiah the 
prophet. 



CHAPTER IX. 

OP THE DEAD SEA, AND OF THE RIVER JORDAN— OP THE HEAD 
OP ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST, AND OP THE USAGES OF THE 
SAMARITANS. 

From Jericho it is three miles to the Dead Sea. A bout that sea 
groweth much alum and alkatran. Between Jericho and that sea is 
the land of Dengadda, where formerly balm grew; but men caused 
the branches to be drawn up and carried to Babylon, and still they 
call them vines of Gady. On the coast of that sea, as we go from 
Arabia, is the Mount of the Moabites, where there is a cave which 
they call Kama. Upon that hill Balak, the son of Boaz, led Ba- 
laam the priest to curse the people of Israel. The Dead Sea divides 
the lands of India and Arabia, and the sea reaches from Soara to 
Arabia 

The water of that sea is very bitter and salt, and if the earth were 
moistened with that water it would never bear fruit. And the earth 
and land change often their color. The water casteth out a thing 
that is called asphalt, in pieces as large as a horse, every day and on 
all sides. From Jerusalem to that sea is two hundred furlongs. 
That sea is in length five hundred and eighty furlongs, and in 
breadth one hundred and fifty furlongs, and is called the Dead Sea, 
because it does not run, but is ever motionless. Neither man, beast, 
or anything that hath life, may die in that sea; and that hath been 
proved many times by men that have been condemned to death, 
who have been cast therein, and left therein three or four days, and 
they might never die therein, for it receiveth nothing within him 
that breatheth life. And no man may drink of the water on ac- 
count of its bitterness. And if a man cast iron therein, it will float 
on the surface; but if men cast a feather therein, it will sink to the 
bottom; and these are things contrary to nature. And there beside 
grow trees that bear apples very fair of color to behold; but when 



OF SIR JOHN MAUNDEVILLE, KT. 55 

we break or cut them in two we find within ashes and cinders, which 
is a token that by the wrath of God the cities and the land were 
burned and sunk into hell. Some call that sea the Lake Dasfe- 
tidee; some, the River of Devils; and some, the river that is ever 
stinking. 

Into that sea, by the wrath of God, sunk the five cities, Sodom, 
Gomorrah, Aldama, Seboym, and Segor, for the abominable sin that 
reigned in them. But Segor, by the prayer of Lot, was saved and 
kept a great while, for it was set upon a hill, and some part of it 
still appears above the water; and men may see the walls when it is 
fair and clear weather. In that city Lot dwelt a little while; and 
there was he made drunk by his daughters, and lay with them, and 
begat on them Moab and Amon. The hill above Segor was then 
called Edom, but afterward men called it Seyr, and subsequently 
Idumea. At the right side of the Dead Sea the wife 6~f Lot still 
stands in likeness of a salt stone, because she looked behind her 
when the cities sunk into hell. 

And you shall understand that the River Jordan runs into the 
Dead Sea, and there it dies, for it runs no further; and its entrance 
is a mile from the Church of St. John the Baptist, toward the west, 
a little beneath the place where Christians bathe commonly. A mile 
from the River Jordan is the River of Jabbok, which Jacob passed 
over when he came from Mesopotamia. This River Jordan is no 
great river, but it has plenty of good fish; and it cometh out of the 
hill of Libanus by two wells, that are called Jor and Dan; and of 
those two wells it hath its name. It passes by a lake called Maron; 
and after, it passes through the Sea of Tiberias and under the hills 
of Gilboa; and there is a very fair valley on both sides of the river. 

The hills of Libanus reach in length to the desert of Pharan. And 
these hills separate the Kingdom of Syria and the country of 
Phoenicia. Upon these hills grow cedar trees, that are very high, 
and bear long apples, as great as a man's head. This River Jordan 
also separates the land of Galilee and the land of Idumea, and the 
land of Betron; and it runs under the earth a great way, unto a fair 
and great plain, which is called Meldan, in the language of Sar- 
moyz; that is to say, a fair or market, in their language, because 
fairs are often held in that plain. And there becomes the water 
great and wide. That plain is the tomb of Job. About the river 
Jordan are many churches, where many Christian men dwelt. 
And near it is the city of Hay, which Joshua assailed and took. 
Also beyond the River Jordan is the Yalley of Mamre, and that is a 
very fair valley. Also upon the hill that I spoke of before, where 



56 THE VOYAGES AND TRAVELS 

our Lord fasted forty days, two miles from Galilee, is a fair and 
lofty hill, where the fiend carried our Lord, the third time, to tempt 
Him, and showed Him all the regions of the world, and said, " All 
this shall I give Thee if Thou fall down and worship me. " 

In going eastward from the Dead Sea, out of the borders of the 
Holy Land, is a strong and fair castle, on a hill which is called 
Carak, in Sarmoyz; that is to say, Royal. That castle was made 
by King Baldwin, when he had conquered that land, who put it into 
the hands of Christians, to keep that part of the country; and for 
that cause it was called the Mount Royal; and under it there is a 
town called Sobache; and there all about dwell Christians, under 
tribute. From thence men go to Nazareth, of which our Lord 
beareth the surname. And thence it is three days to Jerusalem; and 
men go by the province of Galilee, by Ramoth, by Sodom, and by 
the high hill of Ephraim, where Elkanah and Hannah, the mother 
of Samuel the prophet, dwelt. There this prophet, was born; 
and, after his death, he was buried at Mount Joy, as I have said be- 
fore. And then men go to Shiloh, where the ark of God with the 
relics were long kept under Eli the prophet. 

There the people of Hebron sacrificed to our Lord; and there they 
yielded up their vows; and there God first spake to Samuel, and 
showed him the change of the order of priesthood, and the mystery 
of the sacrament. And right nigh, on the left side, is Gibeon, and 
Ramah, and Benjamin, of which Holy Writ speaketh. And after 
men go to Shechem, formerly called Sicher, which is in the province 
of the Samaritans; and there is a very fair and fruitful vale, and 
theie is a fair and good city, called ]Neapolis, whence it is a day's 
journey to Jerusalem. And ther3 is the well where our Lord spake 
to the woman of Samaria; and there was wont to be a church, but 
it is beaten down. Beside that well King Rehoboam caused two 
calves to be made of gold, and made them to be worshiped, and put 
the one at Dan and the other at Bethel. 

A mile from Sichar is the city of Deluze, in which Abraham 
dwelt a certain time. Shechem is ten miles from Jerusalem, and 
is called Neapolis, that is. to say, the new city. And near it is the 
tomb of Joseph, the son of Jacob, who governed Egypt; for the 
Jews carried his bones from Egypt, and buried them there; and 
thither the Jews go oftentime in pilgrimage, with great devotion. In 
that city was Dinah, Jacob's daughter, ravished; for which her 
brethren slew many persons, and did many injuries to the city. And 
there beside is the hill of Gerizim, where the Samaritans make their 
sacrifice; on that hill would Abraham have sacrificed his son Isaac. 



OF SIR JOHN MATJNDEVILLE, KT. 57 

And there beside is the Valley of Dothan; and there is the cistern 
wherein Joseph was cast by his brethren } when they sold him; and 
that is two miles from Sichar. 

From thence we go to Samaria, which is now called Sebaste; it 
is the chief city of that country, and is situated between the hill of 
Aygnes in a similar manner to Jerusalem. In that city were the 
sittings of the twelve tribes of Israel; but the city is not now so 
great as it was formerly. There St. John the Baptist was buried, 
between two prophets, Eljsha and Abdias; but he was beheaded in 
the castle of Macharyme, near the Dead Sea; and after he was car- 
ried by his disciples, and buried at Samaria; and there Julian the 
Apostate caused him to be dug up, and burned his bones, and cast 
his ashes to the wind. But the finger that showed our Lord, say- 
ing, " Behold the Lamb of God!" would never burn, but is all 
whole; St. Tecla, the holy virgin, caused that finger to be carried to 
the hill of Sebaste, and there men made great feast for it; 

In that place was wont to be. a fair church; and many others 
there were, but they are all beaten down. There was wont to be the 
head of St. John the Baptist, inclosed in the wall; but the Emperor 
Theodosius had it drawn out, and found it wrapped in a little cloth, 
all bloody; and so he carried it to Constantinople: and the hinder 
part of the head is still at Constantinople; and the fore part of the 
head, to under the chin, is at Rome, under the Church of St. Sil- 
vester, where are nuns; and it is yet all broiled, as though it were 
half burned; for the Emperor Julian above mentioned, of his wick- 
edness and malice, burned that part with the other bones, as may 
still be seen; and this thing hath been proved both by popes and 
emperors. ■ And the jaws beneath, which hold to the chin, and a 
part of the ashes, and the platter on which the head was laid when 
it was smitten off, are at Genoa; and the Genoese make a great feast 
in honor of it, and so do the Saracens also. And some men say that 
the head of St. John is at Amiens, in Picardy; and other men say, 
that it is the head of St. John the bishop. I know not which is cor- 
rect, but God knows; but however men worship it, the blessed St. 
John is satisfied. 

From this city of Sebaste unto Jerusalem it is twelve miles. And 
between the hills of that country there is a well that four times in 
the year changes its color; sometimes green, sometimes red, some- 
times clear, and sometimes troubled; and men call that well Job. 
And the people of that country, who are called Samaritans, were 
converted and baptized by the Apostles, but they hold not well 
their doctrine; and always they hold laws by themselves, varying 



58 THE VOYAGES AKD TRAVELS 

from Christian men, from Saracens, Jews, and Pagans. The Samar- 
itans believe well in one God; and they say there is only one God, 
who created all things, and judges all things; and they hold the 
Bible according to the letter, and use the Psalter as the Jews do : and 
they say that they are the right sons of God; and, among all other 
folk, they say that they be best beloved of God, and that to them 
belongs the heritage that God promised to his beloved children; and 
they have also a different clothing and outward appearance from 
other people, for they wrap their heads, in red linen cloth, as a dis- 
tinction from olhers; and the Saracens wrap their heads in white 
linen cloth; and the Christian men that dwell in the country wrap 
them in blue of India and the Jews in yellow cloth. In that 
country dwell many of the Jews paying tribute as Christians do. 



CHAPTER X. 

OF THE PROVINCE OF GALILEE, AND WHERE ANTICHRIST SHALL 
BE BORN — OF NAZRETH— OF THE AGE OF OUR LADY— OF THE 
DAY OF DOOM; AND OF THE CUSTOMS OF JACOBITES, SYRIANS, 
AND GEORGIANS. 

From this country of the Samaritans men go to the plains of 
Galilee and leave the hills, on the one side. Galilee is one of the 
provinces of the Holy Land; and in that province are the cities of 
Nain, and Capernaum and Chorazin, and Bethsaida. In this Beth- 
saida St. Peter and St. Andrew were born. And four miles thence 
is Chorazin; and five miles from Chorazin is the city of Kedar, 
whereof the Psalter speaketh; " I dwell in the tents of Kedar." In 
Chorazin shall Antichrist be born, as some men say; and others say 
he shall be born in Babylon; for the prophet saith, " Out of Baby- 
lon shall come a serpent that shall devour all the world." This 
Anlichrist shall be nourished in Bethsaida, and he shall reign in 
Capernaum : and therefore saith Holy Writ, ' ' Woe unto thee, 
Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! and thou, Capernaum." And 
all these towns are in the land of Galilee; and also Cana of Galilee 
is four miles from Nazareth, of which city was Simon tne Canaanite 
and his wife Cance, of whom the holy Evangelist speaks; there our 
Lord performed the first miracle at the wedding, when He turned 
water into wine. 

And at the extremity of Galilee, on the hills, was the ark of God 
taken; and on the other side is Mount Hendor, or Hermon. And 



OF SIR JOHK MAUNDEVILLE, KT. 59 

thereabout goeth the brook of Kishon; and near there Baruch, who 
was son of Abiinele^h, with Deborah the. prophetess, overcame the 
host of Idumea, when Sisera the king was slain by Jael, the wife of 
Heber, and Gideon drove beyond the River Jordan, by strength of 
the sword, Zeba and Zalmunna, and there he slew them. Also five 
miles from Nain is the city of Jezreel, which was formerly called 
Zarim, of which city Jezabel the wicked queen was lady and queen, 
who took away the vineyard of Naboth by force. Fast by that city 
is the field Mageddo, in which King Joras was slain by the king of 
Samaria, and after was carried and buried in Mount Sion. A mile 
from Jezreel are the hills of Gilboa, where Saul and Jonathan, that 
were so fair, died; and wherefore David cursed them, as Holy Writ 
saith: "Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let 
there be rain, upon you." A mile from the hills of Gilboa, to the 
east, is the city of Cyropolis, which was before called Bethsain; and 
upon the walls of that city was the head of Saul hanged. 

After men go by the hills, beside the plains of Galilee, unto 
Nazareth, which was formerly a great and fair city, but now there 
is but a small village, and houses scattered here and there. It is 
not walled, but it is situated in a little valley, with hills all about. 
Here our Lady was born; but she was begotten at Jerusalem; and 
because our Lady was born at Nazareth, therefore our Lord bare His 
surname of that town. There Joseph took our Lady to wife, when 
she was fourteen years of age; and there Gabriel greeted our Lady, 
saying, '" Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee." 
And this salutation was made on the site of a great altar of a fair 
church that stood there formerly, but it is now all down; and they 
have made a little receptacle, near a pillar of that church, to receive 
the offerings of pilgrims. And the Saracens keep that place full 
dearly, for the profit they have by it; and they are very wicked and 
cruel Saracens, and more spiteful than in any other place, and have 
destroyed all the churches. 

Near there is Gabriel's well, where our Lord was wont to bathe, 
when He was young; and from that well He carried water often to 
His mother; and in that well she often washed the clothes of her son 
Jesus Christ; and from Jerusalem thither is three days. Two miles 
from Nazareth is the city of Sephor, by the way that goes from 
Nazareth to Acre. And half a mile from Nazareth is the leap of 
our Lord; for the Jews led Him upon a high rock, to make Him 
leap down, and have slain Him; but Jesus passed amongst them, 
and leaped upon another rock; and the steps of His feet are still to 
be seen in the rock where He alighted. And therefore men say, 



60 THE VOYAGES AND TRAVELS 

when in traveling they are in fear of thieves or enemies, ' : Jesus 
autem transients per medium illorum ibat;" that is to say, "But 
Jesus, passing through the midst of them, went:" in token and 
remembrance , that as our Lord passed through the Jews' cruelty, 
and escaped safely from them, so surely may men escape the peril 
of thieves; and then men say two verses of the Psalter three times: 
' ' Irruat super eos formido et pavor, in magnitudine brachii tui, 
Domine; fiant inmobiles, quasi lapis, donee perlranseat populus tuus, 
Domine; donee perlranseat populus tuus iste, quern possedisti. ,> 
( 'May fear and dread fall upon them; by the greatness of Thine 
arm, O Lord! let them be as still as a stone; till thy people pass 
over, O Lord! till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased.") 
And then men may pass without peril. And you shall understand, 
that our Lady had child when she was fifteen years old; and she 
was conversant with her son thirty-three years and three months. 
And after the passion of our Lord she lived twenty- four years. 

From Nazareth we go four miles to Mount Tabor, which is a very 
fair and lofty hill, where were formerly a town and many churches, 
but they are all destroyed; but yet there is a place, which they call 
the School of God, where he was wont to teach His disciples, and 
told them the secrets of Heaven. At the foot of that hill Melchize- 
dek, who was King of Salem, met Abraham in the turning of the 
hill on his return from the battle, when he had slain Abimelech ; 
and this Melchizedek was both kiEg and priest of Salem, which is 
now called Jerusalem. On that hill of Tabor our Lord transfigured 
Himself before St. Peter, St. John, and St. James; and there they 
saw in spirit Moses and Elias the prophets, and therefore St. Peter 
said, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; let us make here three 
tabernacles. ' ' > 

On that hill and in that same place, at Doomsday, four angels 
shall blow with four trumpets, and raise all men that have suffered 
death since the world was created to life; and they shall come in 
body and soul in judgment, before the face of our Lord, in the 
Valley of Jehoshaphat. And it shall be on Easter-day, the time of 
our Lord's resurrection; and the judgment shall begin on the same 
hour that our Lord descended to hell and despoiled it; for at that 
hour shall He despoil the world, and lead His chosen to bliss; and 
the others shall be condemned to perpetual punishment; and 
then shall every man have after his desert, either good or evil, un- 
less the mercy of God exceed His righteousness. 

A mile from Mount Tabor is Mount Hermon, and there was the 
city of Nain. Before the gate of that city our Lord raised the 



_ 

OF SIR JOHN" MAUNDEVILLE, KT. 61 

widow's son. Three miles from Nazareth is the Castle of Saffra, 
of which were the sons of Zebedee and the sons of Alpheus. Also, 
seven miles from Nazareth, is Mount Cain, under which is a well, 
and beside that well, Lamech, Noah's father, slew Cain with an 
arrow. For this Cain went through briers and bushes as a wild 
beast; and he had lived from the time of Adam, his father, unto 
the time Qf Noah; and so he lived nearly two thousand years. And 
Lamech was blind for old age. 

From Saffra we go to the Sea of Galilee, and to the city of 
Tiberias, which is situated upon that sea. And although they call 
it a sea, it is neither sea, nor arm of the sea; for it is but a stank of 
fresh watt r, which is in length one hundred furlongs, and in breadth 
forty furlongs; and it hath in it great plenty of good fish, and the 
River Jordan runs through it. The city is not very great, but it has 
good baths. And where the River Jordan leaves the Sea of Galilee 
is a great bridge, where they pass from the land of Promise to the 
land of Bashan and the land of Gerrasentz, which are about the 
River Jordan and the commencement of the Sea of Tiberias. 

And from thence may men go to Damascus in three days, by the 
kingdom of Traconitis, which kingdom extends from Mount Her- 
mon to the Sea of Galilee, or the Sea of ' Tiberias, or the Sea of Ge- 
nesareth, which are different names of this sea, or rather this stank, 
of which I have spoken, which changes thus its name according to 
the names of the cities that are situated beside it. On that sea our 
Lord went dry-foot; and there He took up St. Peter, when he began 
to sink in the sea, and said to him, " O thou of little faith, where- 
fore didst thou doubt?" And after His resurrection our Lord ap- 
peared on that sea to His disciples, and bade them fish, and filled 
the net full of great fishes. In that sea our Lord rowed oftentime; 
and there He called to Him St. Peter, St. Andrew, and St. James, 
and St. John, the sons of Zebedee. In that city of Tiberias is the 
table on which our Lord eat with His disciples after His resurrec- 
tion; and they knew Him in breaking of bread, as the Gospel saith. 

And near the city of Tiberias is the hill where our Lord fed five 
thousand persons, with five barley loaves and two fishes. In that 
city a man cast a burning dart in wrath after our Lord, and the 
head smote into the earth, and waxed green, and it grew to a great 
tree; and it grows still, and the bark thereof is all like coals. Also 
in the head of that Sea of Galilee, toward the north, is a strong and 
lofty castle, called Saphor; and close by it is Capernaum, there is 
not so strong a castle within the land of Promise; and there is a 
good town beneath, also called Saphor, In that castle St. Anne, 



62 THE VOYAGES AND TRAVELS 

our Lady's mother, was born. And there, beneath, was the centu- 
rion's house. 

That country is called the Galilee of the Gentiles, who were taken 
to tribute of Zebulon and Naphthali. And in returning from that 
castle, at a distance of thirty miles, is the city of Dan. formerly 
called Belinas. or Cesarea Philippi, situated at the foot of the 
mountain of Libanus, where the Biver Jordan arises. There begins 
the land of Promise, and it extends unto Beersheba, in length from 
north to south, and contains full one hundred and eighty miles; and 
in breadth, that is, from Jericho to Jaffa, it contains forty miles of 
Lombardy, or of our country, which are also little miles. These 
are not miles of Gascony, or of Germany, where the miles are great 
miles. 

And you must know that the land of Promise is in Syria. For 
the realm of Syria extends from the deserts of Arabia to Cilicia, 
which is Armenia the Great, that is to say, from south to north; 
and from east to west it extends from the great deserts of Arabia to 
the west. sea. But in that realm of Syria is the kingdom of Judea, 
and many other provinces, as Palestine, Galilee, Little Cilicia, and 
many others. 

In that country, and other countries beyond, they have a custom, 
when they make war, and when men besiege a city or castle, and 
they within dare not send out messengers with letters from lord to 
lord to ask succor, of binding their letters to the necks of pigeons, 
and letting them fly; and the pigeons are so taught that they fly 
with those letters to the very place that men would send them to. 
For they are fed in those places where they are sent to, and they 
naturally return to where they have been fed. 

And you shall understand that amongst the Saracens, in different 
parts, dwell many Christian men, of many kinds and different 
names, and all are baptized, and have different laws and different 
customs; but all believe in God the Father, and the Son, and the 
Holy Ghost; but they always fail in some articles of our faith. 
Some of these are called Jacobites, because St. James converted 
them, and St. John baptized them. They say that a man shall 
make his confession only to God, and not to a man; for only to Him 
should man acknowledge himself guilty of all that he hath misdone; 
and God ordained not, nor ever devised, nor the prophet either, that 
one man should confess himself to another (as they say), but only to 
God; as Moses writeth in the Bible, and as David saith in the Psalter 
Book, V< I will confess to thee, O Lord, in my whole heart:" and 
" I acknowledge my sin unto thee:" and " Thou art my God, and 



OF SIR JOHK MAUNDEVILLE, KT. 6'6 

I will confess to thee:" and " Since the thoughts of man shall con- 
fess to thee, ' ' etc. 

For they know all the Bible and the Psalter, and therefore allege 
they so the letter; but they allege not the authorities thus in Latin, 
but in their language full openly; and say well, that David and 
other prophets say it. Nevertheless St. Austin, St. Gregory, and 
St. Hilary say differently. And on such authorities, they say, that 
only to God shall a man confess his faults, acknowledging himself 
guilty, and crying Him mercy, and promising Him to amend; 
therefore when they will confess them, they take fire, and set it 
beside them, and cast therein powder of frankincense, and in the 
smoke thereof they confess them to God, and cry Him mercy. And 
true it is, that this confession was first and of nature; but St. Peter 
the Apostle, and they that came after him, have ordered to make 
confession to man; and by good reason, for they perceived well, 
that no sickness was curable by good medicine laid thereto, unless 
men knew the nature of the malady; and also no man may give fit 
medicine, unless he know the quality of the deed. 

There are others who are called Syrians, who hold the belief 
among us and the Greeks; and they all use beards, as men of Greece 
do; and they make the sacrament of unleavened bread; and in their 
language Ihey use the Saracenic letters, but in their theological 
mysteries they use Greek letters; and they make their confession as 
the Jacobites do. 

There are others who are called Georgians, who were converted 
by St. George, and they worship him more than any other saint, 
and to him they cry for help; and they came out of the realm of 
Georgia. These people have their crowns shaven; the clerks have 
round crowns, and. the laity have their crowns all square; and they 
hold the same Christian doctrines as the Greeks, of whom I have 
spoken before. 

There are others who are called Christians of the girdle, because 
they are all girt above; and there are others called Nestorians; and 
some are Arians, some Nubians, some of Greece, some of India, 
and some of Prester John's land. And all these have many articles 
of our faith, and in others they differ from us. 



64 THE VOYAGES AKD TRAVELS 



CHAPTER XI. 

OF THE CITY OP DAMASCUS— OF THREE WAYS TO JERUSALEM : ONE 
BY LAND AND BY SEA; ANOTHER MORE BY LAND THAN BY SEA; 
AND THE THIRD WAY TO JERUSALEM ALL BY LAND. 

Now that I have told you of some of the people in the countries 
before, I will turn again to my way to describe the road back. 
From the land of Galilee, of which I have spoken, men come back 
to Damascus, which is a very fair and noble city, and "full of all 
merchandise, and three days from the sea, and five days from Jeru- 
salem. Men carry merchandise thither upon camels, mules, horses, 
dromedaries, and other beasts; and thither come merchants by sea, 
from India, Persia, Chaldea, Armenia, and many other kingdoms. 
This city was founded by Helizeus Damascus, who was yeoman 
and steward to Abraham before Isaac was born; for he expected to 
have been Abraham's heir, and he named the town after his sur- 
name, Damascus. And in that place, where Damascus was found- 
ed, Cain slew Abel his brother. And beside Damascus is Mount 
Seir. 

In that city of Damascus there is great plenty of wells; and with- 
in the city and without are many fair gardens with diversity of 
fruits. No other city can be compared with it for fair gardens for 
recreation. The city is great and full of people, and well walled 
with double walls, and it contains many physicians; and St. Paul 
himself was there a physician, to keep men's bodies in health, before 
he was converted ; and after 1 hat he was physician of souls. And 
St. Luke the Evangelist was a disciple of St. Paul to learn physic, 
and many others; for St. Paul held then a school of physic. And 
near Damascus he was converted; and after his conversion he dwelt 
in that city three days, without sight and without meat or drink. 
And in those three days he was raised to heaven, and there he saw 
many secrets of our Lord. 

And close beside Damascus is the castle of Arkes, which is both 
fair and strong. From Damascus we return by our Lady of Sarde- 
nak, which is five miles on this side of Damascus; and it is seated 
upon a rock, and is a very fair place, and appears like a castle, 
which it was formerly; but it is now a very fair church; and in it 
are Christian monks and nuns; and there is a vault under the 
church where Christians dwell also; and they have many good 



OF SIE JOHN MAUNDEVILLE, KT. 65 

vines. In the church, behind the altar, in the wall, is a table of 
black wood, on which formerly was painted an image of our Lady, 
which turns into flesh; but now the image appears but little. But 
evermore, through the grace of God, that table drops oil, as it were 
of olive. And there is a vessel of marble under the table, to receive 
the oil, of which they give to pilgrims; for it healeth many sick- 
nesses. And he that keepeth it cleanly a year, after that year it 
turneth into flesh and blood. 

Between the city of Dark and the city of Raphaae is a river, 
which they call Sabatorye; for on the Saturday it runs fast, and all 
the week else it standeth still, and runs naught or little. And there 
is another river that freezeth wonderfully fast in the night, and by 
day no frost is seen. And so men go by a city called Beruthe, on 
the coast of the sea, by which they go tc Cyprus; and they, arrive 
at the port of Sur, or Tyre, and then to Cyprus. Or else men may 
go from the port of Tyre right well, and come not to Cyprus, but 
arrive at some haven of Greece; and then men come to this country 
"by ways that I have spoken of before. 

Now have I told you of ways by the which men go furthest and 
longest, as by Babylon and Mount Sinai, and many other places, 
through which lands men turn again to the land of Promise. Now 
I will tell you the direct way to Jerusalem; for some men will not 
pass it on account of the expense, or because they have no com- 
pany, or for many other reasonable causes; and therefore I will tell 
you briefly how a man may go with little expense and in a short 
time. 

A man who comes from the lands of the west, goes through 
France, Burgundy, and Lombardy, and to Venice, and to Genoa, or 
some other haven of the marshes, and taketh a ship there, and goes 
by sea to the Isle of Gryflie; and so he arrives in Greece, or in Port 
Moroche, or Valon, or Duras, or at some other haven, and lands to 
repose himself, and goes again to the sea, and arrives in Cyprus; 
and comes not to the Isle of Rhodes, but arrives at Famagosta, which 
is the chief haven of Cyprus, or else at Lamatoun, and then embarks 
again, and passes the haven of Tyre without "landing; and so passes 
by all the ha pens of that coast till he comes to Jaffa, which is the 
nearest port to Jerusalem, for it is only seven- and-twenty miles. 

And from Jaffa men go to the city of Ramla, which is but a short 
distance thence, and it is a fair city. And beside Ramla is a fair 
church of our Lady, where our Lord appeared to our Lady in the 
likeness that betokeneth the Trinity. And there, fast by, is a church 
of St George, where his head was smitten off; and then to the castle 



66 THE VOYAGES AND TRAVELS 

of Emmaus; and then to Mount Joy; and from thence pilgrims may 
first see Jerusalem. And then to Mount Modeyn, and then to 
Jerusalem. And at Mount Modeyn lies the Prophet Maccabeus. 
And over Ramatha is the town of Douke, whereof was Amos the 
good prophet. 

Another way. Forasmuch as many men may not . bear the sea, 
but had rather go by land, although it be a more laborious journey, 
a man shall so go to one of the havens of Lombardy, Venice, or an- 
other; and he shall pass into Greece, through Port Moroche or an- 
other, and so he shall go to Constantinople. And he shall so pass 
the water called the Brace of St. George, which is an arm of the sea; 
and from thence he shall come to Pulveralle, and thence to the 
castle of Cynople; and from thence he shall go to Cappadocia, which 
is a great country, where there are many great hills. And he shall 
go through Turkey, and unto the city of Nice, which the Turks 
have taken from the Emperor of Constantinople. It is a fair city, 
and wonderfully well walled: and there is a river that is called the 
Laye; and there men go by the Alps of Aryoprynant, and by the 
vales of Mallebrynez, and also the Vale of Ernax; and so to Antioch 
the Less, which is situated on the River Riclay. And thereabout 
are many good and fair hills, and many fair woods, and also wild 
beasts. 

And he that will go by another way, must go by the plains of 
Romania, coasting the sea. Upon that coast is a wonderfully fair 
castle, which they call Florathe. And when we are out of those 
hills, we pass through a city called Maryoche and Arteyse, where 
there is a great bridge over the river of Ferae, which men call Far- 
far; and it is a great river, capable of admitting ships. And beside 
the city of Damascus is a river that comes from the Mountain of 
Libanus, which is called Albane. At the passing of this river St. 
Eustache lost his two sons, when he had lost his wife. And it goeth 
through the plain of Arthadoe, and so to the Red Sea; and so men 
go unto the city of Phenne, and so to the city of Ferae. 

Antioch is a very fair city, and well walled; it is two miles long, 
and each pillar of the bridge there has a good tower; and this is the 
best city of the Kingdom of Syria. And from Antioch men may 
go to the city of Latuche (Latakiyah), and then to Gebel (Jel5ili), 
and then to Tourtous (Tortosa); and thereby is the land of Cambre, 
where there is a strong castle, which they call Maubeke. And from 
Tourtcus men go to Tripoli, on the sea; and they go by sea unto 
Acre. From this place there are two ways to Jerusalem; on the left 
we go first to Damas, by the River Jordan; on the right we go 



OF SIR JOHK MAUKDEVILLE, KT. 67 

through the land of Flagam, and so to the ciiy of Caiaphas (Caiffa), 
of which Caiaphas was lord; and some call it the Castle of Pilgrims. 
And from thence it is four days to Jerusalem, passing through 
Cesarea Philippi, Jaffa, Eamleh, and Emmaus. 

Now I have told you some of the ways by land and water, how 
men may go to Jerusalem; but there are many other ways accord- 
ing to the countries from which they come. There is one way, all 
by land, to Jerusalem without passing any sea, which is from France 
or Flanders; but that way is very long and perilous, and therefore 
few go that way. It lies through Germany and Prussia, and so on 
to Tartary. This Tartary is held of the Great Chan, of whom I shall 
speak more afterward; and the lords of Tartary pay the Great Chan 
tribute. This is a very bad land, and sandy, and bears very little 
fruit; for there grows little corn, or wine, or beans, or pease; but 
there are plenty of cattle; and men eat nothing but flesh, without 
bread; and they drink the broth, and also they drink milk. And 
they eat all manner of animals, such as dogs, cats, and rats. And 
they have little or no Wood; and therefore they warm and boil their 
meat with horse-dung, and cow-dung, and that of other beasts, 
dried by the. sun; and princes and others eat but once a day, and 
that but little, and they are very foul people, and of evil nature. 

And in summer, in all these countries, fall many tempests, and 
dreadful storms of thunder and lightning, which kill many people, 
and beasts also. And the temperature passes suddenly from extreme 
heat to extreme cold. It is the foulest Country, and the most cursed, 
and the poorest, that men know. And their prince, whom they 
call Batho, dwells at the city of Orda. And truly no good man 
would dwell in that country; for it is not worthy for dogs to dwell 
in. It were a good country to sow thistles, and briers, and broom, 
and thorns; and it is good for no other thing. There is some good 
land, but very little, as men say. I have not been in that country; 
but I have been in other lands which border on those countries, and 
in the land of Russia, and in Nyflan, and in the realm of Cracow, 
and Letto (Lithuania), and in Darestan, and in many other places 
which border on those parts; but I never went by that way to Jeru- 
salem, wherefore I can not describe it from personal knowledge; for 
no man may pass by that way well, except in time of winter, for 
the perilous waters and difficult marshes, which no man may pass 
except it be strong frost, and snow upon it; for if the snow were 
not there, men might not go upon the ice. 

And it is full three days of such way to pass from Prussia to the 
Inhabited land of the Saracens. And Christians who shall war 



68 THE VOYAGES AND TRAVELS 

against them every year must carry their victuals with them; for 
they shall find no good there. And they must carry their victual 
upon the ice, with cars that have no wheels, which they call sleighs; 
and as long as their victuals last they may abide there, but no 
longer; for there shall they find nobody that will sell them any- 
thing. And when the spies see any Christian men coming upon 
them, they run to the towns, and cry with a loud voice, ' ' Kerra, 
kerra, kerra;" and then anon they arm and assemble together. 

And you shall understand that it freezeth more strongly in those 
countries than in this part of the world ; and therefore hath every 
man stoves in his house, and on those stoves they eat and do their 
occupations all that they may; for that is in the northern parts, 
where there is but little sun; and therefore in the very north the 
land is so cold that no man may dwell there; and, on the contrary, 
toward the south it is so hot that no man may dwell there, because 
there the sun is direct over head. 



CHAPTER XII. 

OF THE CUSTOMS OF THE SARACENS, AND OF THE LAW; .AND HOW 
THE SULTAN DISCOURSED TO ME, THE AUTHOR OF THIS BOOK; 
AND OF MOHAMMED. 

Now since I have spoken of Saracens and of their country, if 
you will know a part of their law and belief, I will tell you, accord- 
ing to their book, which is called Alkoran. And some call that book 
Meshaf ; and some call it Harm, according to the different languages 
of the country. This book Mohammed gave them. In it, among 
other things, is written, as I have often seen and read, that the good 
shall go to Paradise, and the evil to hell; and that all Saracens be- 
lieve. And if a. man ask them what ■ Paradise they mean, they say 
it is a place of delight, where men shall find all kinds of fruit, in all 
seasons, and rivers running with milk and honey, and wine and 
sweet water; and they shall have fair houses and noble, every man 
after his desert, made of precious stones, and of gold and silver; and 
every man shall have eighty wives. 

Also they believe in and speak gladly of the Virgin Mary and of 
the Incarnation. And they say that Mary was taught of the angel; 
and that Gabriel said to her that she was chosen from the beginning 
of the world; and that he showed to her the incarnation of Jesus 
Christ; that she conceived, and bare a child, remaining a maid; and 



OF SIR JOHtf MAUKDETILLE; KT. 69- 

that witnesseth their book. And they say also that Jesus Christ 
spake as soon as He was born; and that He was a true and holy 
prophet in word and deed, and meek, and pious, and righteous, and 
without any vice. And they say also that when the angel showed 
the incarnation of Christ unto Mary, she was young, and had great 
fear. For there was then an enchanter in the country that dealt 
with witchcraft, called Taknia, who by his enchantments could take 
the likeness of an angel and went often and lay with maidens; and 
therefore Mary feared lest it had been Taknia, who came to deceive 
the maidens. And therefore she conjured the angel that he should 
tell her if it were he or no. And the angel answered and said that 
she should have no dread of him; for he was a true messenger of 
Jesus Christ. 

Also their book says that when she had been delivered, under a 
palm-tree, she had great shame to have a child, and she moaned and 
said that she would that she had been dead. And anon the child 
spake to her and comforted her, and said, ' ' Mother, have no fear, 
for God hath hid in thee His secrets, for the salvation of the world." 
And that book saith also that Jesus was sent from God Almighty to 
be a mirror and example to all men. And the Alkoran saith also, 
of the day of doom, how God shall come to judge all people; and 
the good He shall draw on His side and put them into bliss; and 
the wicked He shall condemn to the pains of hell. And tney say 
that among all prophets Jesus was the most excellent and the most 
worthy, and that he made the Gospels, in which is good and health- 
ful doctrine, full of charity and steadfastness, and true preaching to 
them that believe in God; and that He was a true prophet, and more ; . 
than a prophet; and lived without sin, and gave sight to the blind, 
and healed the lepers, and raised dead men, and ascended to heaven. 
They i#st a whole month in the year, eating only by night; and they 
keep from their wives all that month; but the sick are not bound 
to that fast. 

Also this book speaks of the Jews, and says they are cursed, be- 
cause they would not believe that Jesus Christ was come of God, 
and that they lied falsely on Mary and her son Jesus Christ, saying 
that they had crucified Jesus the sou of Mary; for he was never 
crucified, as they say, but God made Him ascend to Him without 
death; but He transfigured His likeness into Judas Iscariot, and him 
the Jews crucified, believing that it had been Jesus; and therefore 
they say that the Christian men err. and have no good knowledge 
of this, and that they believe falsely that Jesus Christ was crucified. 
And they say also, that if He had been crucified, God had acted 



70 THE VOYAGES AXD TRAVELS 

contrary to His righteousness, to suffer Jesus Christ, who was inno- 
cent, to be put upon the cross without guilt. And they say that we 
err in this article, and that the great righteousness of God might not 
suffer so great a wrong. They acknowledge that the works of 
Christ are good, and His words and His deeds and His doctrine by 
His Gospels true, and His miracles also true; and the blessed Virgin 
Mary was a good and holy maiden before and after the birth of Jesus 
Christ: and that all those that believe perfectly in God shall be 
saved. And because they go so nigh our faith, they are easily con- 
verted to Christian law, when men preach to them and show them 
distinctly the law of Jesus Christ, and tell them of the prophecies. 

And also they say that they know well by the prophecies that the 
law of Mohammed shall fail as the law of the Jews did; and that 
the law of Christian people shall last to the day of doom. And if 
any man ask them what is their belief, they answer thus: " "We be- 
lieve in God, creator of heaven and earth, and all other things that 
He made. And without Him is nothing made. And we believe in 
the day of doom, and that every man shall have his merit according 
to his desert. And we hold for true all that God hath said by the 
mouths of His prophets." Also Mohammed commanded, in his 
Alkoran, that every man should have two wives, or three or four; 
but now they take as many as nine, and of lemans as many as a 
man may support. And if any one of their wives misbehave against 
her husband, he may cast her out of his house, and part from her 
and take another; but he shall share with her his goods. 

Also when men speak to them of the Father and of the Son and 
of the Holy Ghost, they say that they be three persons, but not one 
God. For their Alkoran speaketh not of the Trinity. But they say 
well that God hath speech, and they know well God hath a spirit; 
for else, they say, he could not be alive. And when men speak to 
them of the incarnation, how by the word of the angel God sent His 
Wisdom into earth, and shadowed Him in the Virgin Mary; and by 
the word of God shall the dead be raised at the day of doom; they 
say that it is true, and that the word of God hath great power. And 
they say that whoso knew not the word of God, he should not know 
God. And they say also, that Jesus Christ is the word of God, and 
so saith their Alkoran, where it saith that the angel spake to Mary 
and said, ' ' Mary, God shall preach the Gospel by the word of His 
mouth, and His name shall be called Jesus Christ." 

And they say also that Abraham was friend to God, and that 
Moses spoke familiar with God; and Jesus Christ was the word and 
the spirit of God; and that Mohammed was the messenger of God. 



OF SIR JOHK MAraDEVILLE, KT. 71 

And they say that of these four Jesus was the most worthy, and the 
most excellent and the greatest; so that they have many goo 3 articles 
of our faith, although they have no perfect law and faith as Chris- 
tian men have, and therefore they are easily converted, especially 
those that understand the scriptures and the prophecies. For they 
have the Gospels, and the prophecies, and the Bible written in their 
language. Wherefore they know much of Holy Writ, but they un- 
derstand it not but after the letter; and so do the Jews, for they un- 
derstand not the letter spiritually, but carnally, and therefore be 
they reproved by the wise, who understand it spiritually. 

The Saracens say that the Jews are cursed, because they have 
denied the law that God sent them by Moses. And the Christians are 
cursed also, as they say, for they keep not the commandments and 
the precepts of the Gospel, which Jesus Christ gave them. And, 
therefore, I shall tell you what the sultan said to me one day, in 
his chamber. He sent out of his chamber all men, lords and others, 
because he would speak with me in counsel. And there he asked 
me how the Christian men governed themselves in our country? 
And I answered, " Right well; thanked be God." 
And he said to me, " Truly, nay; for you Christians care not how 
untruly you serve God. You should set an example to the common 
people to do well, and you set them an example of doing evil. For 
the commons, upon festival days, when they should go to church to 
serve God, go to taverns and are there in gluttony all day and night, 
and eat and drink as beasts that have no reason, and know not 
when they have enough. And also, the Christians encourage one 
another, in all ways that they may, to fight, and to deceive one an- 
other. And they are so proud that they know not how to be clothed; 
now long, now short, now straight, now large, now with sword, 
now with dagger, and in all manner of guises. They should be 
simple, meek, and true, and full of almsdeeds, as Jesus was, in 
whom they believe; but they are all the contrary, and ever inclined 
to evil, and to do evil. And they are so covetous, that for a little sil- 
ver they sell their daughters, their sisters, and their own wives to 
put them to lechery. And one seduces the wife of another, and 
none of them holdeth faith to another; but they break their law, 
that Jesus Christ gave them to keep for their salvation. And thus, 
for their sins, have they lost all this land which we hold. Because, 
for their sins here, God hath given them into our hands; not only 
by our power, but for their sins. For we know well in very truth, 
that when you serve God, God will help you; and when He is with 
you, no man may be against you. And that know we well by our 



72 THE YOYAGES AND TEAYELS 

prophecies, that the Christians shall win again this land out of our 
hands when they serve God more devoutly. But as long as they 
are of foul and unclean living (as they are now), we have no dread 
of them, for their God will not help them." 

And then I asked him how he knew the state of the Christians? 
And he answered me, ' ' That he knew all the state of the commons 
also, by his messengers, whom he sent to all lands, in guise of mer- 
chants of precious stones, cloths of gold, and other things, to know 
the manners of every country amongst Christians. ' ' 

And then he called in all the lords that he had sent out of his 
chamber, and he showed me four who were great lords, who told 
me of my country, and of many other Christian countries, as well 
as if they had been of the same country; and they spoke French 
perfectly well, and the sultan also, whereof I had great marvel. 
Alas! it is great slander to our faith and to our law, when people 
that are without law shall reprove us of our sins. And they that 
should be converted to Christ and to the law of Jesus by our good 
examples and by our acceptable life to God, and so converted to the 
law of Jesus Christ, are, through our wickedness and evil living, far 
from us, and strangers from the holy and true belief shall thus ac- 
cuse us and hold us for wicked livers and accursed. And indeed 
they say truth. For the Saracens are good and faithful, and keep 
entirely the commandment of the holy book Alkoran, which God 
sent them by His messenger Mohammed; to whom, as they say, St. 
Gabriel the angel often told the will of God. 

And you shall understand that Mohammed was born in Arabia, 
and was first a poor boy that kept camels which went with mer- 
chants for merchandise; and so it happened that he went with the 
merchants into Egypt. And in the deserts of Arabia he went into a 
chapel where a hermit dwelt; and when he entered ' into the 
chapel, which was but little and low, and had a small low door, then 
the entrance became so great, and so large, and so high as though it 
had been a great minster, or the gate of a palace. And this was the 
first miracle, the Saracens say, that Mohammed did in his youth. 

Then he began to wax wise and rich; and he was a great astrono- 
mer; and afterward he was governor and prince of the land of Coz- 
rodane, which he governed full wisely; in such manner that, when 
the prince was dead, he took his lady, named Gadrige, to wife. And 
Mohammed fell often in the great sickness called the falling evil, 
wherefore the lady was sorry that ever she took him to husband. 
But Mohammed made her believe that when he fell so Gabriel the 
angel came to speak with him, and for the great brightness of the 



OF SIE JOHX MAUXDEYILLE, KT. 73 

angel he might not help falling. And therefore the Saracens say 
that Gabriel came often to speak with him. 

This Mohammed reigned in Arabia in the year of our Lord Jesus 
Christ 610; and was of the generation of Ishmael; who was Abra- 
ham's son, by Agar, his chamber-maid. And, therefore, there are 
Saracens that are called Ishmaelites; and some £.re called Agarenes, 
of Agar; and others are called Saracens of Sarah; and some are 
called Moabites, and some Ammonites, from the two sons of Lot. 
Moab and Amnion, whom he begat on his daughters, and who were 
afterward great earthly princes. 

. And also Mohammed loved well a good hermit, who dwelt in 
the desert a mile from Mount Sinai, in the way from Arabia toward 
Chaldea and toward India, one day's journey from the sea, where 
the merchants of Venice come often for merchandise. And so often 
went Mohammed to this hermit that all his men were angry; for he 
would gladly hear this hermit preach, and make his men wait all 
night, and therefore his men thought to put the hermit to death; 
and so it befell on a night that Mohammed was drunk with good 
wine, and he fell asleep; and his men took Mohammed's sword out 
of his sheath, while he slept, and therewith they slew the hermit, 
and put his sword, all bloody, in his sheath again. And on the 
morrow, when he found the hermit dead, he was very wroth, and 
would have put his men to death; but they all with one accord said 
that he, himself had slain him when he was drunk, and showed him 
his sword all bloody; and he believed that they said truth.' And 
then he cursed the wine and all those that drink it. And therefore 
Saracens that be devout never drink wine; but some drink it 
privately; for if they drink it openly they would be reproved. But 
they drink good beverage, and sweet and nourishing, which is made 
of galamelle; and that is what men make sugar of, which is of 
right good savor, and it is good for the breast. Also it happens 
sometimes that Christians become Saracens, either from poverty or 
from ignorance, or else from their own wickedness. And therefore 
the archiflamen, or the flamen, as our archbishop or bishop, when 
he receives them, says, La ellec sila, Machomete rores alia; that is to 
say, There is no God but one, and Mohammed His messenger. 



74 THE YOTAGES AKD TRAVELS 



CHAPTER XIII. 

OF ALBANIA AND OF LYBIA— OF THE WISHINGS FOR WATCHING OF 
THE SPARROW-HAWK; AND OF NOAH'S SHIP. 

Now, since I have told you before of the Holy Land, and of that 
country about, and of many ways to go to that land, to Mount 
Sinai, and of Babylon the Greater and the Less, and other places, 
now is the time, if it please you, to tell you of the borders and 
isles, and divers beasts, and of various peoples beyond these bor- 
ders. For in the countries beyond are many diverse countries, and 
many great kingdoms, that are separated by the four streams that 
come from terrestrial Paradise. For Mesopotamia, and the king- 
dom of Chaldea, and Arabia, are between the two rivers of Tigris 
and Euphrates. And Media and Persia are between the rivers of 
Nile and Tigris. And Syria, Palestine, and Phoenicia are between 
the Euphrates and the Mediterranean Sea, which sea extends in 
length from Marok, on the Sea of Spain, to Ihe great sea, so that it 
lasts beyond Constantinople three thousand and forty Lombard 
miles. 

Toward the Ocean Sea, in India, is the kingdom of Scythia, 
which is inclosed in mountains; and after, below Scythia, from 
the Caspian Sea to the River Thainy, is Amazonia, or the land of 
Feminy, where there is no man, but only women. And after is 
Albania, a full great realm; so called because the people are whiter 
there than in other countries thereabout. And in that country are so 
great and strong dogs, that they assail lions and slay them. And 
then after are Hircania, Bactria, Iberia, and many other kingdoms. 

And between the Red Sea and the Ocean Sea, toward the south, is 
the kingdom of Ethiopia, and Lybia the Higher. Which land of 
Lybia (that is to say, Lower Lybia) commences at the Sea of Spain, 
from thence where the Pillars of Hercules are, and extends to Egypt 
and toward Ethiopia. In that country of Lybia the sea is higher 
than the land, and it seems that it would cover the earth, and yet it 
passeth not its bounds. And men see in that country a mountain 
to which no man cometh. In this land of Lybia, whoso turneth to- 
ward the east, the shadow of himself is on the right side, and here, 
in our country, the shadow is on Ihe left side. In that sea of Lybia 
is no fish, for they may not live for the great heat of the sun; be- 
cause the water is ever boiling for the great heat. And many other 



OF S1E JOHK MAU3TDJSVILLE, KT. 75 

]ands there are that it were too long to tell or to number; but of 
some parts I shall speak more plainly hereafter. 

Whoever will go toward Tartaiy, Persia, Chaldea, and India, 
must enter the sea at Genoa, or at Venice, or at some other haven 
that I have mentioned before, and then pass the sea and arrive at 
Trebizond, which is a good city; and it was wont to be the haven 
of Pountz (Pontus). There is the haven of Persians and of Medians, 
and of the countries beyond. 

In that city lieth St. Athanasius, who was bishop of Alexandria, 
and made the psalm, " Quicunque vult. " This Athanasius was a great 
doctor of divinity; and because he preached and spake so deeply of 
divinity and of the godhead, he was accused to the Pope of Rome 
of being a heretic; wherefore the Pope sent after him, and put him 
in prison, and while he was in prison he made the psalm, and sent it 
to the Pope, and said, that if he were a heretic that was his heresy; 
for that, he said, was his belief. And when the Pope saw it, and 
had examined it that it was perfect and good, and verily our faith 
and our belief, he set him at liberty, and commanded that psalm to 
be said every day at prayer; and so he held Athanasius a good 
man. But he would never go to his bishopric again, because he had 
been accused of heresy. Trebizond was formerly held by the Em- 
peror of Constantinople; but a great man whom he sent to keep the 
country against the Turks, usurped the land and held it to himself, 
and called himself Emperor of Trebizond. 

And from thence men go through Little Ermony (Armenia), in 
which is an old castle, on a rock, called the castle of the Sparrow- 
hawk. It is beyond the city of Laya} r s (Lajazzo), beside the town 
of Pharsipee, which belongs to the lordship of Cruk, a rich lord 
and a good Christian. There is found a sparrow-hawk upon a fair 
perch, and a fair lady of fairie, who keeps it; and whoever will 
watch that sparrow-hawk seven clays and seven nights, and, as some 
men say, three days and three nights, without company and with- 
out sleep, that fair lady shall give him, when he hath done, the 
first wish that he will wish of earthly things; and that hath been 
proved oftentimes. And once a king of Ermony, who was a worthy 
knight and a brave man, and a noble prince, watched that hawk 
some time; and at the end of seven days and seven nights the lady 
came to him, and bade him wish, for he had well deserved it; and 
he answered that he was a great lord enough, and well in peace, and 
had enough of worldly riches; and therefore he would wish no 
other thing but the body of that fair lady. And she answered him 
that he knew not what he asked, and said that he was a fool to de- 



76 THE VOYAGES AKD TRAVELS 

sire what he- might not have; for she said that he should only ask 
an earthly thing; and she was no earthly thing, but a spiritual 
thing. And the king said that he would ask no other thing. And 
the lady answered, " Since I may not withdraw you from your 
lewd boldness, I shall give you without wishing, and to all that 
shall come of you. Sir king, you shall have war without peace, 
and always, to the ninth degree, you shall be in subjection to your 
enemies, and you shall be in need of all goods. ' ' And since that 
neither the King of Ermony nor the country was ever in peace or 
rich; and they have since been always under tribute to the Saracens. 

At another time the son of a poor man watched the hawk, and 
wished that he might have good success, and be fortunate in mer- 
chandise. And the lady granted it him, and he became the richest 
and most famous merchant that might be on sea or on land; and he 
became so rich that he knew not one-thousandth part of what he 
had; and he was wiser in wishing than the king. Also a knight of 
the temple watched there, and wished a purse ever full of gold; 
and the lady granted him; but she told him that he had asked the 
destruction of the order; for the trust of that purse, and for the 
great pride that they should have; and so it was. And therefore let 
him who watches beware; for if he sleep he is lost, that never man 
shall see him more. This is not the direct way to go to the parts 
that I have mentioned before, but to see the marvel of which I have 
spoken. 

And, therefore, whoever will go the direct way must proceed 
from Trebizond toward Ermony the Great, to a city called Artyroun 
(Erzeroum) which was formerly a good and populous city, but the 
Turks have greatly wasted it. Thereabout grows little or no wine 
or fruit. In this land the earth is higher than in any other; and 
that makes it very cold. And there are many good waters and good 
wells, that come under earth from the river of Paradise, which is 
called Euphrates, which is a day's journey from this city. And 
that river comes toward India, under eartn, and reappears in the 
land of Altazar. And so men pass by this Erinony, and enter the 
Sea of Persia. 

From that city of Artyroun men go to a mountain called Sabis- 
socolle; and there beside is another mountain called Ararat, but the 
Jews call it Taneez, where Noah's ship rested, and still is upon 
that mountain; and men may see it afar in clear weather. That 
mountain is full seven miles high; and some men say that they have 
seen and touched the ship, and put their fingers in the parts where 
the devil went out, when Noah said " Benedicite." But they that 



OF SIR JOHtf MAUNDEYILLE, KT. 77 

say so speak-without knowledge; for no one can go up the mountain 
for the great abundance of snow which is always on that mountain, 
"both summer and winter, so that no man ever went up since the 
time of Noah, except a monk, who, by God's grace, brought one of 
the planks down, which is yet in the monastery at the foot of the 
mountain. 

And beside is the city of Dayne,. which was founded by Noah, 
near which is the city of Any, in which were one thousand 
churches. This monk had great desire to go up that mountain; 
and so upon a day he went up; and when he had ascended the third 
part of the mountain he was so weary that he fell asleep; when he 
awoke he found himself lying at the foot of the mountain. Then 
he prayed devoutly to God that he would suffer him to go up; and 
an angel came to him, and said that he should go up; and so he did. 
And since that time no one ever went up; wherefore men should 
not believe such words. 

From that mountain we go to the city of Thauriso (Tabreez), 
which was formerly called Taxis, a very fair and great city, and 
one of the best in the world for merchandise; and it is in the land 
of the Emperor of Persia. And they say that the emperor receives 
more in that city for custom of merchandise than the richest Chris- 
tian king alive from all his realm; for the toll and custom of his 
merchants is beyond calculation. Beside that city is a hill of salt, 
of which eveiy man taketh what he will. There dwell many Chris- 
tians under tribute of Saracens. And from that city men pass by 
many towns and castles, on the way toward India to the city of 
Sadony, which is ten days from Thauriso; and it is a very noble 
and great city. And there the Emperor of Persia dwells in sum- 
mer, because the climate is temperate. And there are good rivers 
capable of bearing ships. Then men go the way toward India for 
many days, and by many countries, to the city called Cassak, a full 
noble city, abounding in corn, wines, and all other goods. 

This is the city where the three kings met together when they 
went to seek our Lord in Bethlehem, to worship him and to present 
him with gold, essence, and myrrh. And it is from that city to 
Bethlehem fifty-three days. From that city men go to another city, 
called Bethe (Beth-Germa? or Old Bagdad), a day from the sea 
which they call the Sandy Sea. This is the best city which the Em- 
peror of Persia has in all his land, and it is called there Chardabago; 
and others call it Vapa. And the pagans say that no Christian may 
remain long alive in that city; but they die within short time, and 
no man knows the cause. Afterward men go by many cities and 



78 THE VOYAGES AND TRAVELS 

towns and great countries to the city of Cornaa (Kprnali?), which 
was formerly so great that the walls are twenty- five miles about. 
The walls are still standing, but it is not all inhabited. From 
Cornaa men go by many lands, and many cities and towns, unto 
the land of Job; and there ends the land of the Emperor of Persia. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

OP THE LAND OF JOB, AND OF HIS AGE— OF THE ARRAY OF MEN 
OF CHALDEA — OF THE LAND WHERE WOMEN DWELL WITHOUT 
COMPANY OF MEN — OP THE KNOWLEDGE AND VIRTUES OF THE 
TRUE DIAMOND. 

After leaving Cornaa we enter the land of Job, a very fair 
country, and abounding in all goods; and men call it the land of 
Sweze (Susiana). In that land is the city of Theman. Job was a 
pagan, and he was son of Are of Gosre, and held the land as prince 
of the country; and he was so rich that he knew not the hundredth 
part of his goods. And, although he was a pagan, still he served 
God well, "after his law; and our Lord took his service in satisfac- 
tion. And when he fell in poverty he was seventy-eight years of 
age. And afterward, when God had tried his patience, which was 
so great, he brought him again to riches and to higher estate lhan 
before. And after that he was King of Idumea, after King Esau. 
And when he was king he was called Jobab. And in that kingdom 
he lived afterward one hundred and seventy years; and so he was 
of age, when he died, two hundred and forty-eight years. 

In that land of Job there is no want of anything needful to man's 
body. There are hills, where they get manna in greater abundance 
than in any other country. This manna is called bread of angels; 
and it is a white thing, very sweet and delicious, and sweeter than 
honey or sugar; it comes of the dew of heaven, that falls upon the 
herbs in that country; and it congeals, and becomes white and 
sweet; and they put it in medicine for rich men, for it cleanseth. 
the blood and putteth out melancholy. 

This land of Job borders on the kingdom of Chaldea. This land 
of Chaldea is very extensive; and the language of that country is 
greater in sounding than it is in other parts beyond the sea, We 
pass it to go to the tower of Babylon the Great, of which I have 
spoken, where all the languages were first changed; and that is four 
days from Chaldea. In that realm are fair men, and they go full 



of sir joh:n t maundeville, kt. 79 

nobly arrayed in cloths of gold, or frayed, and appareled with great 
pearls and precious stones full nobly; but the women are very ugly 
and vilely arrayed; and they go barefoot, and clothed in evil gar- 
ments, large and wide, but short to the knees, and long sleeves 
down to the feet, like a monk's frock, and their sleeves are hanging 
about their shoulders; and they are black women, foul and hideous; 
and truly they are as bad as they are foul. 

In that kingdom of Chaldea, in a city called Ur, dwelt Terah, 
Abraham's father; and there was Abraham born, which was in the 
lime that Ninus was King of Babylon, of Arabia and of Egypt. 
This Ninus made the city of Nineveh, which Noah had begun; 
and because Ninus completed it, he called it Nineveh after his own 
name. There lies Tobit the prophet, of whom Holy Writ speaketh. 
And from that city of Ur Abraham departed, by the commandment 
cf God, after the death of his father, and led him Sarah, his wife, 
and Lot. his brother's son, because he had no child. And they went 
to dwell in the land of Canaan, in a place called Sechem. And this 
Lot was he who was saved, when Sodom and Gomorrah and the 
other cities, where the Dead Sea now is, were burned and sunk 
down to hell, as I have told you before. 

Beside the land of Chaldea is the land of Amazonia, in which is 
all women, and no man; not, as some men say, because men may 
not live there, but because the women will not suffer men amongst 
them, to be their sovereigns. This land of Amazon is an island 
surrounded by the sea, except in two places, where are two en- 
trances. And beyond the water dwell the men who are their para- 
mours, where they go to solace them when they will. Beside 
Amazonia is the land Df Tarmegyte, a great and very pleasant 
country, and for the goodness of which king Alexander made there 
the city of Alexandria; he made twelve cities of the same name, 
but that cily is now called Celsite. And from that other side of 
Chaldea, toward the south, is Ethiopia, a great country which ex- 
tends to the extremity of Egypt. 

Ethiopia is divided into two principal parts, the east and the 
south, the latter part being called Mauritania. And the people of 
that country are blacker than in the other part, and are called 
Moors. In that country is a well, which in the day is so cold that 
no man may drink thereof, and in the night it is so hot that no 
man may suffer his hand therein. Toward the south, to pass by the 
Ocean Sea, is a great country, but men may not dwell there, for the 
fervent burning of the sun. In Ethiopia all the rivers and waters 
are troubled, and somewhat salt, for the great heat that is there. 



80 THE VOYAGES AND TEAYELS 

And the people of that country are easily intoxicated, and have hut 
little appetite for meat. And Ihey are afflicted with dysenteries, and 
live not long. In Ethiopia, the children, when young, are all yel- 
low; and when they grow older that yellowness turns to black. In 
Ethiopia is the city of Saba and the land where one of the three 
kings reigned who came to our Lord in Bethlehem. 

From Ethiopia they go to India through many different countries; 
and men call the higher India Emlak. India is divided into three 
principal parts, the Greater, which is a very hot country; and India 
the Less, which is a temperate country, extending to the land of 
Media, and the third part, toward the north, is so cold, that for 
continual frost the water becomes crystal; and upon those rocks of 
crystal grow the good diamonds, that are of troubled color. Yellow 
crystal draws color like oil. And they are so hard that no man 
may polish them; and men call them diamonds in that country, and 
hamese in another country. 

Other diamonds are found in Arabia, but they are not so good; 
they are browner and more tender. And other diamonds also are 
found in the Island of Cyprus, which are still more tender, and may 
easily be polished; and they find diamonds also in Macedonia; but 
the best and most precious are in India. And they often find hard 
diamonds in a mass which comes out of gold, when they break the 
mass in small pieces, to purify it and refine it, out of the mine. 
And it sometimes happens that they find some as great as a pea, and 
some less; and they are as hard as those of India. And although, 
men find good diamonds in India, yet nevertheless men find them 
more commonly upon the rocks in the sea, and upon hills where 
the mine of gold is. They grow many together, one little, another 
great; and there are some of the greatness of a bean, and some as 
great as a hazel nut. They are square and pointed of their own 
kind, both above and beneath, without work of man's hand; and 
they grow together, male and female, and are nourished by the dew 
of heaven; and they engender commonly and bring forth small 
children, that multiply #nd grow all the year. I have oftentimes 
tried the experiment, that if a man keep them with a little of the 
rock, and wet them with May-dew often, they shall grow every 
year, and the small will grow great; for right as the fine pearl con- 
geals and grows great by the dew of heaven, right so doth the true 
diamond; and right as the pearl of its own nature takes roundness, 
so the diamond, by virtue of God, takes squareness. 

And a man should carry the diamond on his left side, for it is of 
greater virtue than on the right side; for the strength of their grow- 



OF SIK JOH2s" MAUXDEVILLE, KT. SI 

ing is toward the north, that is the left side of the world; and the 
left part of man is when he turns his face toward the east. And if 
you wish to know the virtues of the diamond (as men may find in 
the " Lapidary," with which many men are not acquainted), I shall 
tell you, as they beyond the sea say and affirm, from whom, all 
science and philosophy comes. He who carries the diamond upon 
him, it gives him hardiness and manhood, and it keeps the limbs of 
his body whole. It gives him victory over his enemies in court and 
in war, if his cause be just: and it keeps him that bears it in good 
wit; and it keeps him from strife and riot, from sorrows and from 
enchantments, and from fantasies and illusions of wicked spirits. 
And if any cursed witch or enchanter would bewitch him that bears 
the diamond, all that sorrow and mischance shall turn to the 
offender, through virtue of that stone; and also no wild beast dare 
assail the man who bears it on him. Also the diamond should be 
given freely, without coveting and without buying, and then it is of 
greater virtue; and it makes a man stronger and firmer against his 
enemies; and heals him that is lunatic, and those whom the fiend 
pursues or torments. And if venom or poison be broughl in pres- 
ence of the diamond, anon it begins to grow moist and sweat. 

There are also diamonds in India that are called violastres (for 
their color is like violet, or more brown than violets), that are very 
hard and precious, but some men like them not so well as the others. 
Also there is another kind of diamonds that are as white as crystal; 
but they are a little more troubled; and they are good and of great 
virtue, and they are all square and pointed of their own nature; and 
some are six-square, some four-square, and some three, as nature 
shapes them; and, therefore, when great lords and knights go to 
seek honor in arms, they gladly bear the diamond upon them. 

I shall speak a little more of the diamonds, that they who know 
them not may not be deceived by chapmen who go through the 
country selling them; for whoever will buy the diamond, it is need- 
ful that he know them, because men counterfeit them often with crys- 
tal, which is yellow; and with sapphires of citron- color, which is 
yellow also; and with the sapphire loupe, and with many other 
stones. But these counterfeits are not so hard; and the points will 
break easily, and men may easily polish them. But some workmen, 
for malice, will not polish them, to that intent, to make men believe 
that they may not be polished. But men may assay them in this 
manner: first cut with them or write with them in sapphires, in 
crystal, or in other precious stones. Also take the adamant, that is, 
the shipman's stone, that draws the needle to it, and lay the dia- 



82 THE VOYAGES ASTD TRAVELS 

mond on it, and lay the needle before the adamant; and if the dia- 
mond be good and virtuous, the adamant draws not the needle, 
while the diamond is there present. This is Ihe proof that they be- 
yond the sea use. Nevertheless it happens often that the good dia- 
mond loses its virtue by sin, and for incontinence of him that bears 
it; and then it is needful to make it recover its virtue again, or else 
it is of little value. 



CHAPTER XV. 

OF THE CUSTOMS OF ISLES ABOUT INDIA— OF THE DIFFERENCE 
BETWEEN IDOLS AND SIMULACRES— OF THREE KINDS OF PEP- 
PER GROWING UPON ONE TREE — OF THE WELL THAT CHANGES 
ITS ODOR EVERY HOUR OF THE DAY. 

In India are very many different countries: and it is called India, 
from a river which runs through the country called Indus. In that 
river they find eels thirty feet long and more. And the people that 
dwell near that river are of evil color, green and yellow. In India, 
and about India, are more than five thousand inhabited islands, 
good and great, besides those that are uninhabitable, and other small 
islands. Every island has great plenty of cities, and towns, and 
people without number. For men of India have this condition of 
nature, that they never go out of their own country, and therefore 
there is great multitude of people; but they are not stirring or mov- 
able, because they are in the first climate, that is, of Saturn. 

And Saturn is slow, and little moving; for he tarrieth thirty years 
to make his course through the twelve signs; and the moon passes 
through the twelve signs in a month. And because Saturn is so 
slow of motion, the people of that country, that are under his 
climate, have no inclination or will to move or stir to seek strange 
places. Our country is all the contrary ; for we are in the seventh 
climate, which is of the moon, and the moon moves rapidly, and is 
a planet of progression; and for that reason it gives us a natural 
will to move lightly, and to go different ways, and to seek strange 
things and other diversities of the world; for the moon goes round 
the earth more rapidly than any other planet. 

Also men go through India by many different countries, to the 
great Sea of Ocean. And afterward men find there an island that 
is called Hermes; and there come merchants of Venice and Genoa, 
and of other parts, to buy merchandise; but there is great heat in 



OF SIE JOHN MAUJtDEVILLE, KT. 83 

that district. In that country, and in Ethiopia, and in many other 
countries, the inhabitants lie all naked in rivers and waters, men 
and women together, from undurn of the day till it be past noon. 
And they lie all in the water, except the face, for the great heat that 
there is. And the women have no shame of the men, but lie all to- 
gether, side by side, till the heat is past. There may men see many 
foul figures assembled, and chiefly near the good towns. In that 
island are ships without nails of iron or bonds, on account of the 
rocks of adamants (loadstones); for they are all abundant thereabout 
in that sea, that it is marvelous to speak of; and if a ship passed 
there that had either iron bonds or iron nails, it would perish; for 
the adamant, by its nature, draws iron to it; and so it would draw 
to it the ship, because of the iron, that it should never depart from it. 

From that island men go by sea to another island called Chan a, 
where is abundance of corn and wine; and it was wont to be a great 
island, and a great and good haven, but the sea has greatly wasted 
and overcome it. The king of that country was formerly so strong 
and so mighty that he held war against King Alexander. The peo- 
ple of that country differ in their religious belief; for some worship 
the sun, some the moon, some the fire, some trees, some serpents, or 
the first thing that they meet in a morning; and some worship 
simulacres, and some idols. 

Between simulacres and idols there is a great difference; for 
simulacres are images made after the likeness of men or of women, 
or of the sun or of the moon, or of any beast, or of any natural 
thing; and an idol is an image made by the lewd will of man, which 
is not to be found among natural things, as an image that has four 
heads, one of a man, another of a horse, or of an ox, or of some 
other beasts, that no man has seen in nature. ADd they that wor- 
ship simulacres worship them for some worthy man who once ex- 
isted, as Hercules and many others, that did many wonders in their 
time. 

For they say well that they are not gods; for they know well that 
there is a God of nature that made all things, who is in heaven; but 
they know well that this man may not do the wonders that he did, 
unless it had been by the special gift of God, and therefore they say 
that he was well with God, wherefore they worship him. And so 
they say of the sun; because it changes the season and gives heat and 
nourishes all things upon earth; and since it is of so great profit, 
they know well that they might not be, unless God loved it more 
than any other thing. And because God has given it greater virtue 
in the world, therefore it is right, as they say, to worship and rev- 



84 THE YOTAGES AIs T D TRAVELS 

erence it. And so they say of other planets, and of the fire also, 
because it is so profitable. 

And of idols, they say also that the ox is the most holy beast that 
is on earth, and more patient and more profitable than any other; 
and they know well that it may not be without special grace of God, 
and therefore make they their god of an ox the one part, and the 
other part of a man, because man is the noblest creature on earth, 
and also he hath lordship above all beasts; therefore make they the 
upper half of the idol of a man, and the lower half of an ox; and so 
of serpents and of other beasts, and di fferenl things that they wor- 
ship, that they meet first in a morning. And they worship also 
especially all those that they have good meeting of, and when they 
speed well in their journey, after their meeting, and mostly such as 
they have proved and assayed by experience of long time; for they 
say that that good meeting may not come but by the grace of God; 
and therefore they make images like to those things in which they 
have belief, to behold them and worship them first in the morning, 
before they meet any contrarioUs thing. 

And there are also some Christians who say that it is good to meet 
some beasts first in the morning, and bad to meet others; and that 
they have often proved that it is very unlucky to meet the hare, the 
swine, and many other beasts; and the sparrow-hawk, and other 
ravenous birds, when they fly after their prey, and take it before 
arlned men, is a good sign, and if they fail of taking their prey it is 
an evil sign; and also, to such people it is unlucky to meet ravens. 
There are many people that believe in these things, and in other 
such, because it happens often so to fall after their fantasies; and 
also there are men enough that disbelieve in them. And since 
Christians have such belief, who are instructed and taught all day 
by holy doctrine wherein they should believe, it is no wonder that 
the pagans, who have no good doctrine but only of their nature, 
believe more largely, on account of their simplicity. . 

And truly I have seen pagans and Saracens, whom men call 
augurs, that when we ride in arms in different countries against 
our enemies, they would tell us, by the flight of birds, the prognos- 
tications of things that fell after; and so they did full often, and 
offered to pledge their heads that it would fall as they said. But a 
man should not, therefore, put his belief in such things, but always 
have full trust and belief in God our sovereign lcrd. The Saracens 
have won and now hold this Island of Chan a. It contains many 
lions, and many other wild beasts, with rats as great as dogs, which 
they take with great mastiffs, for cats can not take them. In this 



OF SIE JOH^ HATJNDEVILLE, KT. 85 

island, and many others, they do not bury their dead; for the heat 
is so great, that in a little time the flesh will consume from the 
hones. 

From thence men go by sea toward India the Greater, to a good 
and fair city called Sarche, where dwell many Christians of good 
faith; and there are many monks, especially mendicants. Thence 
men go by sea to the land of Lomb, in which grows the pepper, in 
the forest called Combar, and it grows nowhere else in all the world; 
that forest extends full eighteen days in length. In the forest are 
two good cities, one called Fladrine, and the other Zinglantz, in each 
of which dwell many Christians and Jews; for it is a good and rich 
country, but the heat is exceeding. 

And you shall understand that the pepper grows like a wild vine, 
which is planted close by the trees of that wood, to sustain it; the 
fruit hangs like bunches of grapes, with which the tree is so laden 
that it seems that it would break; and when it is ripe, it is all green 
like ivy berries; and then men cut them as they do the vines, and 
put them upon an oven, where they become black and crisp. There 
are three kinds of pepper all on one tree; long pepper, black pepper, 
and white pepper. The long pepper is called Sorbotin; the black is 
called Fulfill; and the white is called Bano. The long pepper comes 
first, when the leaf begins to appear, and is like the catkins of hazel 
that come before the leaf, and it hangs low. Next comes the black 
with the leaf, like clusters of grapes, all green; and, when gathered, 
it becomes the white, which is somewhat less than the black, and of 
that but little is brought 1o this country, for they keep it for them- 
selves, because it is better and milder than the black. 

In that country are many kinds of serpenls and other vermin, in 
consequence of the great heat of the country and of the pepper. 
And some men say that, when they will gather the pepper, they 
make fires and burn thereabouts, to make the serpents and cocko- 
drills to fly; but this is not true. But thus they do: they anoint 
their hands and feet with a juice made of snails and other things, of 
which the serpents and venomous beasts hate the savor; and that 
makes them fly before them, because of the smell, and then they 
gather in the pepper in safety. 

Toward the head of that forest is the city of Polombe, above 
which is a great mountain, also called Polombe, from which the city 
has its name. And at the foot of that mountain is a fair and great 
well, which has the odor and savor of all spices; and at every bour 
of the day it changes its odor and savor diversely; and wroever 
drinks three times fasting of the water of that well is whole of all 



86 THE YOYAGES AKD TRAYELS 

kind of sickness that he has; and they that dwell there, and drink 
often of that well, never have sickness, but appear always young. 
I have drunk thereof three or four times, and methinks I still fare 
the better. Some men call it the Well of Youth; for they that 
often drink thereof appear always young, and live without sickness. 
And men say that that well comes out of Paradise, and therefore it 
is so virtuous. 

All that country grows good ginger; and therefore merchants go 
thither for spicery. In that land men worship the ox, for his sim- 
pleness and f Dr his mee mess, and for the profit that comes of him. 
They say that he is the holiest beast on earth; for they consider that 
whosoever is meek 'and patient, he is holy and profit able,, for then, 
they say, he hath all virtues in him. They make the ox to labor six 
or seven years, and then they eat him. 

In thai country they make idols, half man, half ox; and in those 
idols evil spirits speak, and even answer to men. Before these idols 
men often slay their children, and sprinkle the blood on the idols, 
and so they make their sacrifice. And when any man dies in the 
country they burn his body in the name of penance, to that intent 
that he suffer no pain in earth, by being eaten by worms. And if 
his wife have no child they burn her with him, and say that it is 
right that she accompany him in the other world as she did in this. 
But if she have children with him, they let her live with them, to 
bring them up, if she will. And if she love more to live with her 
children than to die with her husband, they hold her for false and 
cursed; and she shall never be loved or trusted by the people. And 
if the woman die before the husband, they burn him with her, if 
he will; and if he will not, no man constraineth him thereto, but he 
may wed another time without blame or reproof. In that country 
grow many strong vines, and the women drink wine, and men not; 
and the women shave their beards, and the men not. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

OF THE JUDGMENTS MADE BY ST. THOMAS— OF DEVOTION AND 
SACRIFICE MADE TO IDOLS THERE, IN THE CITY OF CALAMY; 
AND THE PROCESSION ABOUT THE CITY. 

From that country we pass many districts toward a country ten 
days' journey thence, called Mabaron, which is a great kingdom, 
containing many fair cities and towns. In that kingdom lies the 
body -of St. Thomas the Apostle, in flesh and bone, in a fair tomb, 



OF SIR JOH^ MAUKDEYILLE, KT. 87 

In the city of Calamy; for there he was martyred and buried. But 
men of Assyria carried his body into Mesopotamia, into the city of 
Edessa; and, afterward, he was brought thither again. And the 
arm and the hand that he put in our Lord 's side, when He appeared 
to him after His resurrection, is yet lying in a vessel without the 
tomb. By that hand they there make all their judgments. For 
when there is ary dissention between two parties, and each of them 
maintain his cause, both parties write their causes in two bills, and 
put them in the hand of St. Thomas; and anon he casts away the 
bill of the wrong cause, and holds still the bill with the right cause. 
And, therefore, men come from far countries to have judgment of 
doubtful causes. 

The church where St. Thomas lies is both great and fair, and full 
of great simulacres, which are great images that they call their gods, 
of which the least is as great as two men. And, amongst the others, 
there is a great image larger than any of the others, all covered with 
fine gold and precious stones and rich pearls; and that idol is the 
god of false Christians, who have renounced their faith. It sits in a 
chair of gold, very nobly arrayed, and has about the neck large 
girdles made of gold and precious stones and pearls. The church is 
full richly wrought, and gilt all over within. And to that idol men 
go on pilgrimage, as commonly and with as great devotion as 
Christian men go to St. James, or other holy pilgrimages. And 
many people that come from far lands to seek that idol, for the great 
devotion that they have, never look upward, but evermore down to 
the earth, for dread to see anything about them that should hinder 
them of their devotion. And some who go on pilgrimage to this 
idol bear knives in their hands, that are very keen and sharp, and 
continually, as they go, they smite themselves on their amis, legs, 
and thighs, with many hideous wounds; and so they shed their 
blood for love of that idol. They say that he is blessed and holy 
that dieth so for love of his god. And others there are who carry 
their children to be slain as a sacrifice to that idol; and after they 
have slain them, they sprinkle the blood upon the idol. And some, 
who come from far, in going toward this idol, at every third pass 
that they go from their home, they kneel, and so continue till they 
come thither; and when they come there, they take incense and 
other aromatic things of noble smell, and scent the idol, as we here 
do God's precious body. 

And so people come to worship this image, some a hundred miles, 
and some many more. And before the minster of this idol is a pool, 
like a great lake, full of water; and therein pilgrims cast gold and 



8S THE YOYAGES AND TKAYELS 

silver, pearls and precious stones, without number, instead of offer- 
ings. And when the ministers of that church need to make any 
reparation of the church or of any of the idols, they take gold and 
silver, pearls and precious stones, out of the pond, to pay the ex- 
penses of such thing as they make or repair. At great feasts and 
solemnities of that idol, as the dedication of the church and the en 
throning of the idol, all the country about meet there, and set the 
idol upon a chair with great reverence, well arrayed with cloths of 
gold, of rich cloths of Tartary, of camaka.. and other precious cloths; 
and they lead him about the city with great solemnity. And before 
the chair go first in procession all the maidens of the country., two 
and two together; and, after them, the pilgrims. And some of them 
fall down under the wheels of the chair, and let the chair go over 
them, so that they die immediately. And some have their arms or 
their limbs broken. And all this they do. for love of their god. in 
great devotion. And they think thai the more pain and tribulation 
they suffer for love of their god, the more joy they shall have in 
another world. In a word, they suffer so great pains and so hard 
martyrdoms for love of their idol, that a Christian, I believe, durst 
not take upon him the tenth part of the pain for love of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. And after them before the chair, go all the minstrels 
of the country, with divers instruments, and make all the melody 
they can. 

And when they have all gone about the city they return to the 
minster and put the idol again into its place. And then, for the 
love and in worship of that idol, and for the reverence of the feast, 
two hundred or three hundred persons slay themselves with sharp 
knives, whose bodies they bring before the idol; and then they say 
that those are saints, because they slew themselves of their own 
good will, for love of their idol. And as men here, that had a holy , 
saint of their kin, would think that it was to them a high worship, 
right so they think there. And as men here devoutly would write 
holy saints' lives and their miracles, and sue for their canonizations, 
right so do they there for them that slay themselves voluntarily for 
love of their idol. And they say that they are glorious martyrs and 
saints, and put them in their writings and in their litanies, and boast 
them greatly one to another of their holy kinsmen, that so became 
saints, and say, ' ' I have more holy saints in my family than thou in 
thine." 

And the custom also there is this, that when any one has such 
devotion and intent to slay himself for love of his god, they send 
for all their friends, and have numerous minstrels, and they go be- 



OF SIR JOHN" MAUNDEVILLE, KT. 89 

fore Ihe idol, leading him that will slay himself for such devotion, 
between them, with great reverence. And he, all naked, hath a very 
sharp knife in his hand, and he cuts a great piece of his flesh and 
casts it in the face of his idol, saying his prayers, recommending 
himself to his god; and then he smites himself, and makes great 
wounds and deep here and Ihere, till he falls down dead. And then 
his friends present his body to the idol; and then they say, singing, 
" Holy god, behold what thy true servant hath done for thee; he 
hath forsaken his wife, and his children, and his riches, and all the 
goods of the world and his own life for the love of thee, and to 
make for thee sacrifice of his flesh and of his blood. "Wherefore, 
hoby god, put him amongst thy best beloved saints in thy bliss of 
paradise, for he hath well deserved it." Then they make a great 
fire, and burn the body; and then every one of his friends takes a 
quantity of the ashes, and keeps them instead of relics, saying that 
it is a holy thing; and they dread no peril while they have the holy 
ashes upon them. And they put his name in their litanies as a 
saint. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

OF THE EVIL CUSTOMS IN THE ISLE OF LAMARY; AND HOW THE 
EARTH AND THE SEA ARE OP ROUND FORM, AS IS PROVED 
BY THE STAR CALLED ANTARCTIC, WHICH IS FIXED IN THE 
SOUTH. 

From that country men go by the Sea of Ocean, and by many 
divers isles and countries which it would be too long to describe. 
Fifty-two days from the land I have spoken of there is another 
extensive land, which they call Lamary, in which the heat is very 
great; and it is the custom there for men and women to go all 
nnked. And they scorn when they see foreigners going clothed, 
because they say that God made Adam and Eve all naked, and that 
no man should be ashamed of what is according to nature. And 
they say that they that are clothed are people of another world, or 
people who believe not in God. And they marry there no wives, 
for all the women are common; and they say they sin if they refuse 
any man: for God commanded Adam and Eve, and all that come of 
him, that they should increase and multiply and fill the land, there- 
fore may no man in that country say, " This is my wife;" and no 
woman may say, "This is my husband." And when they have 
children they may give them to what man they will, who has com- 
panied with them. And all land and property also is common, 



90 THE VOYAGES AKD TEATELS 

nothing being shut up, or kept under lock, one man being as rich 
as another. But in that country there is a cursed custom, for they 
eat more gladly man's flesh than any other flesh, although their 
country abounds in flesh, fish, corn, gold, and silver, and all other 
goods. Thither merchants go, who bring with them children to 
sell to them of the country, and they buy them; and if they are fat 
they eat them anon ; and if they are lean they feed them till they 
are fat, and then eat them; and they say that it is the best and 
sweetest flesh in the world. 

Neither in that land, nor in many others beyond it, may any man 
see the polar star, which is called the Star of the Sea, which is im- 
movable, and is toward the north, and which we call the load-star. 
But they see another slar opposite to it, toward the south, which is 
called antarctic. And right as shipmen here govern themselves by 
the load-star, so shipmen beyond these parts are guided by the star 
of the south, which appears not to us. This star, which is toward 
the north, what we call the load-star, appears not to them. For 
which cause, we may clearly perceive that the land and sea are of 
round shape and form, because the part of the firmament appears in 
one country which is not seen in another country. 

And men may prove by experience and their understanding, that 
if a man found passages by ships, he might go by ship all round the 
world above and beneath; which I prove thus, after what I have 
seen. For I have been toward the parts of Brabant, and found by 
the astrolabe that the polar star is fifty three degrees high; and 
further, in Germany and Bohemia, it has fifty-eight degrees; and 
still further toward the north it is sixty-two degrees and some min- 
utes; for I myself have measured it by the astrolabe. Now you 
shall know that opposite the polar star is the other star, called 
antarctic, as I have said before. These two stars are fixed; and 
about them all the firmament turns as a wheel that turns on its axle- 
tree; so that those stars bear the firmament in two equal parts; so 
that it has as much above as it has beneath. After this I have 
gone toward the south, and have found that in Lybia we first see 
the antarctic star; and I have gone so far in those countries that I 
have found that star higher, so that, toward Upper Lybia, it is 
eighteen degrees and certain minutes. After going by sea and land 
toward the country of which I spoke last, and to other isles and 
lands beyond that country, I have found the antarctic star thirty- 
three degrees in latitude, and some minutes. And if I had had 
company and shipping to go further, I believe certainly that we 
should have seen all the roundness of the firmament all about. 



OF SIR JOHK MAUNDEVILLE, KT. 91 

For, as I have told you before, the half of the firmament is be- 
tween the two stars, which half I have seen. And the other half I 
hnve seen toward the north, under the polar star, sixty-two degrees 
and ten minutes; and, toward the south, I have seen under the 
antarctic thirty-three degrees and sixteen minutes; and the half of 
the firmament in all contains but one hundred and eighty degrees, 
of which I have seen sixty-two on the one part, and thirty-three on 
the other, which makes ninety-five degrees and nearly the half of 
a degree; so that I have seen all the firmament except eighty-four 
degrees and the half of a degree; and that is not the fourth part of 
the firmament. By which I tell you, certainly, that men may go 
all round the world, as well under as above, and return to their 
country, if they had company, and shipping, and guides; and al- 
ways they would find men, lands, and isles, as well as in our part 
of the world. For they who are toward the antarctic are directly 
feet opposite feet of them who dwell under the polar star; as well 
as we and they that dwell under us are feet opposite feet . For all 
parts of sea and land have their opposites, habitable or passable. 

And know well that, after what I may perceive and understand, 
the lands of Prester John, Emperor of India, are under us; for in 
going from Scotland or from England, toward Jerusalem, men go 
always upward; for our land is in the low part of the earth, toward 
the west; and the land of Prester John is in the low part of the 
earth, toward the east; and they have there the day when we have 
night; and, on the contrary, they have the night when we have the 
day; for the earth and the sea are of a round form, as I have said 
before; and as men go upward to one part, they go downward to 
another. Also you have heard me say that Jerusalem is in the 
middle of the world; and that may be proved and shown there by 
a spear which is fixed in the earth at the hour of midday, when it is 
equinoctial, which gives no shadow on any side. 

They, therefore, that start from the west to go toward Jerusalem, 
as many days as they go upward to go thither, in so many days 
may they go from Jerusalem to other confines of the superficialities 
of the earth beyond. And when men go beyond that distance, to- 
ward India and to the foreign isles, they are proceeding on the 
roundness of the earth and the sea, under our country. And there- 
fore hath it befallen many times of a thing that I have heard told 
when I was young, how a worthy man departed once from our 
country to go and discover the world; and so he passed India, and 
the isles beyond India, where are more than five thousand isles; 
and so long he went by sea and land, and so environed the world 



92 THE YOYAGES AND TRAYELS 

by many seasons, that he found an isle where he heard people speak 
his own language, calling an oxen in the plow such words as men 
speak to beasts in his own country, whereof he had great wcnder, 
for he knew not how it might be. But I say that he had gone so 
long, by land and sea, that he had gone all round the earth, that he 
was come again to his own borders, if he would have passed forth 
till he had found his native country. But he turned again from 
thence, from whence he was come; and so he lost much painful 
labor, as himself said, a great while after, when he was coming 
home; for it befell after, that he went into Norway, and the tempest 
of the sea carried him to an isle; and when he was in that isle he 
knew well that it was the isle where he had heard his own language 
spoken before, and the calling of the oxen at the plow. 

But it seems to simple and unlearned men that men may not go 
under the earth, but that they would fall from under toward the 
heaven. But that may not be any more than we fall toward heaven 
from the earth where we are; for from what part of the earth that 
men dwell, either above or beneath, it seems always to them that 
they go more right than any other people. And right as it seems to 
us that they be under us, so it seems to them that we are under 
them; for if a man might fall from the earth unto the firmament, 
by greater reason the earth and the sea, that are so great and so 
heavy, should fall to the firmament; but that may not be, and 
therefore saith our Lord God, "He hangeth the earth upon noth- 
ing." 

And although it be possible so to go all round the world, yet of a 
thousand persons not one might happen to return to his country; 
for, from the greatness of the earth and sea, men may go by a thou- 
sand different ways, that no one could be sure of returning exactly 
to the parts he came from, unless by chance or by the grace of God; 
for the earth is very large, and contains in roundness and circuit, 
above and beneath, 20,425 miles, after the opinion of the old wise 
astronomers; and, after my little wit, it seems to me, saving their 
reverence, that it is more; for I say thus: let there be imagined a 
figure that has a great compass, and, about the point of the great 
compass, which is called the center, let there be made another little 
compass; then, afterward, let the great compass be divided by lines 
in many parts, and all the lines meet at the center; so that in as 
many parts as the great compass shall be divided, in so many shall 
the little one that is about the center be divided, although the spaces 
be less. Let the great compass be represented for the firmament, 
and the little compass for the earth; now the firmament is divided 



OF SIE JOHX mauxdeville, kt. 93 

by astronomers into twelve signs, and every sign is divided into 
thirty degrees. Also let the earth be divided into as many parts as 
the firmament, and let every part answer to a degree of the firma- 
ment; and I know well that, after the authorities in astronomy, 
seven hundred furlongs of earth answer to a degree of the firma- 
ment, that is eighty- seven miles and four furlongs. Now, multi- 
plied by three hundred and sixt}- times, it makes 31,500 miles, each 
of eight furlongs, according to miles of our country. So much hath 
the earth in circuit after my opinion and understanding. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

OP THE PALACE OP THE KING OF THE ISLE OF JAVA — OF THE 
TEEES THAT BEAR MEAL, HONEY, WINE, AND VENOM; AND OP 
OTHER WONDERS AND CUSTOMS IN THE ISLES THEREABOUTS. 

Beside the isle I have spoken of. there is another great isle called 
Sumobor, the king of which is very mighty. The people of that 
isle make marks in their faces with a hot iron, both men and 
women, as a mark of great nobility, to be known from other people; 
for they hold themselves most noble and most worthy of all the 
world. They have war always with the people that go all naked. 
Fast beside is another rich isle called Beteinga. And there are 
many other isles thereabout. 

Fast beside that isle, to pass by sea, is a great isle and extensive 
country called Java, which is near two thousand miles in circuit. 
And the king of that country is 1 a very great lord, rich and mighty, 
having under him seven other kings of seven other surrounding 
isles. This isle is well inhabited, and in it grow all kinds of spices 
more plentifully than in any other country, as ginger, cloves, cahel, 
sedewalle, nutmegs, and maces. And know well that the nutmeg 
bears the maces; for right as the nut of the hazel hath a husk in 
which the nut is inclosed till it be ripe, so it is of the nutmeg and of 
the maces. Many other spices and many other goods grow in that 
isle; for of all things there is plenty, except wine. Gold and silver 
are very plentiful. 

The king of that country has a very noble and wonderful palace, 
and richer than any in the world; for all the steps leading to halls 
and chambers are alternately of gold and silver; and the pavements 
of halls and chambers are squares of gold and silver; and all the 
walls within are covered with gold and silver in thin plates; in 



94 THE VOYAGES AKD TRAVELS 

which plates are inlaid si ories and battles of knights, the crowns 
and circles about whose heads are made of precious stones and rich 
and great pearls. And the halls and the chambers of the palace 
are all covered within with gold and silver, so that no man would 
believe the richness of that palace unless he had seen it. And 
know well that the king of that isle is so mighty, that he hath 
many times overcome the Great Chan of Cathay in battle, who is 
the greatest emperor under the firmament, either beyond the sea or 
on this side; for they have often had war between them, because 
the Great Chan would oblige him to hold his land of him; but the 
other at all times defendeth himself well against him. 

After that isle is another large isle, called Pathan, which is a great 
kingdom, full of fair cities and towns. In that land grow trees 
that bear meal, of which men make good bread, white, and of good 
savor; and it seemeth as it were of wheat, but it is not quite of such 
savor. And there are other trees that bear good and sweet honey; 
and others that bear poison, against which there is no medicine but 
one; and that is to take their own leaves, and stamp them and mix 
them with water, and then drink it, for no medicine will avail. 
The Jews had sent for some of this poison by one of their friends, 
to poison all Chi istendom, as I have heard them say in their con- 
fession before dying; but, thanked be Almighty God, they failed of 
their purpose, although they caused a great mortality of people. 
And there are other trees that bear excellent wine. 

And if you like to hear how the meal comes out of the trees, men 
hew the trees with a hatchet, all about the foot, till the bark be 
separated in many parts; and then cpmes out a thick liquor, which 
they receive in vessels, and dry it in the sun; and then carry it to a 
mill to grind, and it becomes fair and white meal; and the honey, 
and the wine, and the poison, are drawn out of other trees in the 
same manner, and put in vessels to keep. In that isle is a dead 
sea, or lake, that has no bottom; and if anything fall into it, it will 
never come up again. In that lake grow reeds, which they call 
Thaby, that are thirty fathoms long; and of these reeds they make 
fair houses. And there are other reeds, not so long, that grow near 
the land, and have roots full a quarter of a furlong or more long, at 
the knots of which roots precious stones are found that have great 
virtues; for he who carries any of them upon him may not be hurt 
by iron or steel; and therefore they who have those stones on them 
fight very boldly both on sea and land; and, therefore, when their 
enemies are aware of this, they shoot at them arrows and darts 
without iron or steel, and so hurt and slay them. And also of 



OF SIR JOHItf MAUOTEVILLE, KT. 95 

tliose reeds they make houses and ships, and other things, as we 
here make houses and ships of oak, or of any other trees. And let 
no man think that I am joking, for I have seen these reeds with my 
own eyes many times, lying upon the river of that lake, of which 
twenty of our fellows might not lift up or bear one to the earth. 

Beyond this isle men go by sea to another rich isle, called Calo- 
nak, the king of which has as many wives as he will; for he makes 
search through the country for the fairest maidens that may be 
found, who are brought before him, and he taketh one one night, 
and another another, and so forth in succession; so that he hath a 
thousand wives or more. Thus the king has many children, some- 
times a hundred, sometimes two hundred, and sometimes more. 
He hath also as many as fourteen thousand elephants, or more, 
which are brought up amongst his serfs in all his towns. And in 
case he has war with any of the kings around him, he causes certain 
men of arms to go up into wooden castles, which are set upon the 
elephants' backs, to fight against their enemies; and so do other 
kings thereabouts; and they call the elephants warkes. 

And in that isle there is a great wonder; for all kinds of fish that 
are there in the sea come once a year, one kind after the other, to 
the coast of that isle in so great a multitude that a man can see 
hardly anything but fish; and there they remain three days; and 
eveiy man of the country takes as many of them as he likes. And 
that kind of fish, after the third day, departs and goes into the sea. 
And after them come another multitude of fish of another kind, and 
do in the same manner as the first did another three days; and so 
on with the other kinds, till all the divers kinds of fishes have been 
there, and men have taken what they like of them. And no man 
knows the cause; but they of the country say that it is to do rever- 
ence to their king, who is the most worthy king in tne world, as 
they say, because he fulfills the commandment of God to Adam 
and Eve, " Increase and multiply, and fill the earth;" and jbecause 
he multiplies so the world with children, therefore God sends him 
the fishes of divers kinds, to take at his will for him and all his 
people; and thus all the fishes of the sea come to do him homage as 
the most noble and excellent king of the world, and that is best be- 
loved of God, as they say. 

They are also in that country a kind of snails, so great that many 
persons may lodge in their shells, as men would do in a little house. 
And there are other snails that are very great, but not so huge as 
the other, of which, and of great white serpents with black heads, 
that are as great as a man's thigh, sad some less, they make royal 



96 THE VOYAGES AND TRAVELS 

meats for the king and other great lords. And if a man who is 
married die in that country they bury his wife alive with him, for 
they say that it is right that she make him company in the other 
world, as she did in this. 

From that country they go by the Sea of Ocean, by an isle called 
Caffolos; the natives of which, when their friends are sick, hang 
them on trees, and say that it is better that birds, which are angels 
of God, eat them, than the foul worms of the earth. Then we come 
to another isle, the inhabitants of which are of full cursed kind, for 
they breed great dogs, and teach them to strangle their friends, 
when they are sick, for they will not let them die of natural death; 
for they say that they should suffer great pain if they abide to die 
by themselves, as nature would; and, when they are thus strangled, 
they eat their flesh as though it were venison. 

Afterward men go by many isles by sea to an isle called Milk, where 
are very cursed people; for they delight in nothing more than to 
fight and slay men; and they drink most gladly man's blood, which 
they call Dieu. And the more men that a man may slay, the more 
worship he hath amongst them. And thence they go by sea, from 
isle to isle, to an isle called Tracoda, the inhabitants of which are as 
beasts, and unreasonable, and dwell in caves which they make in 
the earth, for they have not sense to make houses. And when they 
see any man passing through their countries they hide them in their 
caves. And they eat flesh of serpents, and speak naught, but hiss, 
as -serpents do. 

After that isle, men go by the Sea of Ocean, by many isles, to a 
great and fair isle called Nacumera, which is in circuit more than a 
thousand miles. And all the men and women of that isle have 
dogs' heads; and they are reasonable and of good understanding, 
except that they worship an ox for their god. And also every man 
of them beareth an ox of gold or silver on his forehead, in token 
that they love well their god. And they go all naked, except a little 
clout, and are large men and warlike, having a great target that covers 
all the body, and a spear in their hand to fight with. And if they 
take any man in battle they eat him. The king is rich and power 
ful, and very devout after his law; and he has about his neck three 
hundred orient pearls, knotted, as paternosters are here of amber. 
And as we say our Pater fibster and Ave Maria, counting the pater- 
nosters right, so this king says every daj T devoutly three hundred 
prayers to his god, before he eats; and he beareth also about his 
neck an orient ruby, noble and fine, which is a foot in length, and 
five fingers large. 



m 



OF SIR JOHN" MAUNDEVILLE. KT. 97 



And when they choose their king, they give him that ruby to 
carry in his hand, and so they lead him riding all about the city. 
And that ruby he shall bear always about his neck; for if he had 
not that ruby upon him they would not hold him for king. The 
Chan of Cathay has greatly coveted that ruby, but he might never 
have it, neither for war, nor for any manner of goods. This king 
is so righteous and equitable in his judgments, that men may go 
safely through all his country, and bear with them what they like, 
and no man shall be bold enough to rob them. 

Hence men go to another isle called Silha, which is full eight hun- 
dred miles in circuit. In that land is much waste, for it is so full 
of serpents, dragons, and cockodrills, that no man dare dwell there. 
These cockodrills are serpents, yellow and rayed above, having four 
feet, and short thighs, and great nails like claws; and some are five 
fathoms in length, and some of six, eight, Or even ten; and when 
they go by places that are gravelly, it appears as .if men had drawn 
a great tree through the gravelly place. And there are also many 
wild beasts, especially elephants. 

In that isle is a great mountain, in the midst of which is a large 
lake in a full fair plain, and there is great plenty of water. And 
they of the country say that Adam and Eve wept on that mount a 
hundred years, when they were driven out of Paradise. And that 
water, they say, is of their tears; for so much water they wept, that 
made the aforesaid lake. And at the bottom. of that lake are found 
many precious stones and great pearls. In that lake grow many 
reeds and great canes, and there within are many cockodrills and 
serpents, and great Water-leeches. And the king of that country, 
once every year, gives leave to poor men to go into the lake to gather 
precious stones and pearls, by way of alms, for the love of God, that 
made Adam. To guard against the vermin, they anoint their arms, 
thighs, and legs with an ointment made of a thing called limons, 
which is a kind of fruit like small pease, and then they have no 
dread of cockodrills, or other venomous things. This water runs, 
flowing and ebbing, by a side of the mountain; and in that river 
men find precious stones and pearls, in great abundance. And the 
people of that isle say commonly, that the serpents and wild beasts 
of the country will do no harm to any foreigner that enters that 
country, but only to men that are born there. 



98 THE TOTAGES AND TKAYELS 



CHAPTER XIX. 

HOW MEN KNOW BY AN IDOL IP THE SICK SHALL DIE OH NOT— 
OF PEOPLE OF DIVERS SHAPES, AND MARVELOUSLY DISFIGURED; 
AND OF THE MONKS THAT GIVE THEIR RELIEF TO BABOONS, 
APES, MONKEYS, AND TO OTHER BEASTS. 

From that isle, in goiDg by sea toward the south, is another great 
isle called Dondun, in which are people of wicked kinds, so that 
the father eats the son, the son the father, the husband the wife, 
and the wife the husband. And if it so befall that the father or 
mother or any of their friends are sick, the son goes to the priest of 
their law, and prays him to ask the idol if his father or mother or 
friend shall die; and then the priest and the son go before the idol, 
and kneel full devoutly, and ask of the idol; and if the devil that is 
within answer that he shall live, they keep him well; and if he say 
that he shall die, then the priest and the son go with the wife of him 
that is sick, and they put their hands upon his mouth and stop his 
breath, and so kill him. And after that, they chop all the body in 
small pieces, and pray all his friends to come and eat; and they send 
for all the minstrels of the country and make a solemn feast. And 
when they have eaten the flesh, they take the bones and bury them, 
and sing and make great melody. 

The king of this isle is a great and powerful lord, and has under 
his fifty-four great isles, which give tribute to him; and in every 
one of these isles is a king crowned, all obedient to that king. In 
one of these isles are people of great stature, like giants, hideous to 
look upon; and they have but one eye, which is in the middle of the 
forehead; and they eat nothing but raw flesh and fish. And in an- 
other isle toward the south dwell people of foul stature and cursed 
nature, who have no heads, but their eyes are in their shoulders. 

In another isle are people who have the face all flat, without nose 
and without mouth. In another isle are people that have the lip 
above the mouth so great, that when they sleep in the sun they cover 
all the face with that lip. And in another isle there are dwarfs, 
which have no mouth, but instead of their mouth they have a little 
round hole; and when they shall eat or drink, they take it through 
a pipe, or a pen, or such a thing, and suck it in. And in another 
isle are people that have ears so long that they hang down to their 
knees. And in another isle are people that have horses' feet. In 



OF SIR JOHK MAUNDEVILLE, KT. 99 

another isle are people that go upon their hands and feet like beasts, 
and are all skinned and feathered, and would leap as lightly into 
trees, and from tree to tree, as squirrels or apes. In another isle are 
hermaphrodites. And in another isle are people that go always upon 
their knees, and at every step they go it seems that they would fall; 
and they have eight toes on every foot. Many other divers people 
of divers natures there are in other isles about, of the which it were 
too long to tell. 

From these isles, in passing by the Sea of Ocean toward the east, 
by many days, men find a great kingdom called Mancy, which is in 
India the Greater; and it is the best land, and one of the fairest in 
all the world; and the most delightful and plentiful of all goods. 
In that land dwell many Christians and Saracens, for it is a good 
and great country, and there are in it more than two thousand great 
and rich cities, besides other great towns. And there is greater 
plenty of people there than in any other part of India. In that 
country is no needy man; and they are very fair people, but they 
are all pale. And the men have thin and long beards, though with 
few hairs, scarcely any man having more than fifty hairs in his 
beard, and one hair set here, another there, as the beard of a leopard 
or cat. In that land are many fairer women than in any other coun- 
try beyond the sea; and therefore they call that land Albany, be- 
cause the people are white. 

And the chief city of that country is called Latoryn; it is a day 
from the sea, and much larger than Paris. In that city is a great 
river, bearing ships, which go to all the coasts on the sea, for no 
city of the world is so well stored of ships. And all the inhabitants 
of the city and of the country worship idols. In that country the birds 
are twice as large as they are here. There are white geese, red about 
the neck, with a great crest like a cock's comb upon their heads; 
and they are much greater there thLn here. And there is great 
abundance of serpents, of which men make great feasts, and eat 
them at great solemnities. And he that maketh there a feast, be it 
ever so costly, unless he have serpents it is not esteemed. 

There are many good cities in that country, and men have great 
plenty of all wmes and victuals cheap. In that country are many 
churches of religious men of their law; and in the churches are idols 
as great as giants. And to these idols they give to eat, at great festi- 
val days, in this manner: they bring before them meat, hot from the 
fire, and they let the smoke go up toward the idols; and then they 
say that the idols have eaten, and then the religious men eat the meat 
afterward. In that couni ry are white hens without feathers, but 



100 THE VOYAGES AND TRAVELS 

they bear white wool, as sheep do here. In that country, women 
that are unmarried carry tokens on their heads, like coronets, to be 
known for unmarried. Also in that country are beasts taught by 
men to go into waters, rivers, and deep ponds, to take fish; which 
beast is little, and men call them loyres. And when men cast them 
into the water, anon they bring up great fishes, as many as men will. 

And from that city, at a distance of many days' journey, is an- 
other city, one of the greatest in the world, called Cansay, that is to 
say, the city of heaven. It is full fifty miles about, and is so popu- 
lous that in one house men make ten households. In that city are 
twelve principal gates; and before each gate, three or four miles dis- 
tant is a great town or city. That city is situated upon a great lake 
on the sea, like Venice. And in that city are more than twelve 
thousand bridges; and upon every bridge are strong and good 
towers, in which dwell the wardens to keep the city from the Great 
Chan. And on the one side of the city runs a great river all along 
the city. And there dwell Christians, and many merchants and 
other people of divers nations, because the land is so good and 
abundant. And there grows very good wine, which they call bigon, 
which is very strong and mild in drinking. This is a royal city, 
where the King of Mancy formerly resided; and there dwell many 
religious men, much resembling the order of friars, for they are 
mendicants. 

From that city men go by water, solacing and disporting them, till 
they come to an abbey of monks fast by, who are good religious 
men, after their faith and law. In that abbey is a great and fair 
garden, where are many trees of divers kinds of fruits; and in this 
garden is a little hill, full of pleasant trees. In that hill and garden 
are various animals, as apes, monkeys, baboons, and many other 
divers beasts; and every day, when the monks have eaten, the al- 
moner carries what remains to the garden and strikes on the garden 
gate with a silver clicket that he holds in his hand, and anon all the 
beasts of the hill, and of divers places of the garden, come 'out, to 
the number of three or four thousand; and they come in manner of 
poor men; and men give them the remnants in fair vessels of silver 
gilt. 

And when they have eaten, the monk strikes again on the garden 
gate with the clicket, and all the beasts return to the places they 
came from. And they say that these beasts are souls of worthy men, 
that resemble in likeness the beasts that are fair; and therefoie they 
give them meat for the love of God. And the other beasts, that are 
foul, they say, are souls of poor men; and thus they believe, and no 



OF SIK JOHK MAUSTDEVILLE, KT. 101 

man may put them out of this opinion. These beasts they take when 
they are young, and nourish them thus with alms, as many as they 
may find. And I asked them if it had not been better to have given 
that relief to poor men, rather than to the beasts. And they an- 
swered me, and said that they had no poor men amongst them in 
that countiy; and though it had been so that poor men had been 
among them, yet were it greater alms to give it to those souls that 
here do their penance. Many other marvels are in that city, and in 
the country thereabout, that were too long to tell you. 

From that city men go by land six days to another city called 
Chilenfo, of which the walls are twenty miles in circumference. In 
that city are sixty bridges of stone, so far that no man may see fairer. 
In that city was the first seat of the King of Mancy, for it is a fair 
city and plentiful in all goods. Hence we pass across a great river 
called Dalay, which is the greatest river of fresh water in the world; 
for where it is narrowest it is more than four miles broad. And then 
men enter again the land of the Great Chan. The river goes through 
the land of pigmies, where the people are small, but three spans long; 
and they are right fair and gentle, both the men and the women. 
They live but six or seven years at most, and he that liveth eight 
years is considered very aged. These men are the best workers of 
gold, silver, cotton, silk, and of all such things, that are in the 
world. 

And they have oftentimes war with the birds of the country, which 
they take and eat. This little people neither labor in lands nor in 
vineyards; but they have great men amongst them, of our stature, 
who till the land and labor amongst the vines for them. And of the 
men of our stature they have as great scorn and wonder as we 
should have among us of giants. There is a great and fair city 
amongst others, with a large population of the little people; and 
there are great men dwelling amongst them; but when they get 
children they are as little as pigmies; and therefore they are for the 
most part all pigmies, for the nature of the land is such. 

From that city men go by land, by many cite and towns, to a 
city called Jamchay, which is noble and rich, and of great profit to 
the lord; and thither go men to seek all kinds of merchandise. The 
lord of the country hath every year, for rent of that city (as they of 
the city say), fifty thousand cumants of florins of gold; for they count 
there all by cumants, and every cumant is ten thousand florins of 
gold. The king of that country is very powerful, yet he is under 
the Great Chan, who hath under him twelve such provinces. In that 
pountry, in the good towns, is a good custom; for whoever will 



102 THE YOYAGES AND TRAYELS 

make a feast to any of his friends, there are certain inns in every 
good town; and he that will make a feast will say to the host, 
" Array for me, to-morrow, a good dinner for so many people," and 
tells him the number, and devises him the viands; and he says, 
also, "Thus much I will spend, and no more." And anon the 
host arrays for him, so fair, and so well, and so honestly, that there 
shall lack nothing; and it shall be done sooner, and with less cost, 
than if it were done in his own house. 

Five miles from that city, toward the head of the river of Dalay, 
is another city, called Menke, in which is a strong navy of ships, all 
white as snow, from the color of the trees of which they are made; 
and they are very great and fair ships, and well ordained, and made 
with halls and chambers, and other casements, as though it were on 
land. From thence men go by many towns and many cities to a 
city called Lanteryne, eight days from the city last mentioned. This 
city is situated upon a fair, great, and broad river, called Carama- 
ron, which passes through Cathay; and it often overflows and does 
much harm. 



CHAPTER XX. 

OF THE GEE AT CHAN OF CATHAY — OF THE ROYALTY OF HIS 
PALACE, AND HOW HE SITS AT MEAT; AND OF THE GREAT 
NUMBER OF OFFICERS THAT SERVE HIM. 

Cathay is a great country, fair, noble, rich, and full of mer- 
chants. Thither merchants go to seek spices and all manner of 
merchandises, more commonly than in any other part. And you 
shall understand that merchants who come from Genoa, or from 
Venice, or from Romania, or other parts of Lombardy, go by sea 
and by land eleven or twelve months, or more sometimes before they 
reach the Isle of Cathay, which is the principal region of all parts 
beyond; and it belongs to the Great Chan. From Cathay men go 
toward the eeftf", l ly many days' journey, to a good city, between 
these others, called Sugarmago, one of the best stored with silk and 
other merchandises in the world. 

1 hen men come to another old city, toward the east in the pro- 
vince of Cathay, near which the men of Tartary have made another 
city, called Cay don, which has twelve gates. And between the two 
gates there is always a great mile; so that the two cities, that is to 
say the old and the new, have in circuit more than twenty miles. 
In this city is the seat of the Great Chan, in a very great palace, the 



OF SIR JOHN MATODEYILLE, KT. 103 

fairest in the world, the walls of which are in circuit more than two 
miles; and within Ihe walls it is all full of other palaces. And in 
the garden of the great palace there is a great hill, upon which 
there is another palace, the fairest and richest that any man may 
devise. And all about the palace and the hill are many trees bear- 
ing divers fruits. And all about that hill are great and deep ditches; 
and beside them are great fish-ponds, on both sides; and there is a 
very fair bridge to pass over the ditches. And in these fish-ponds 
are an extraordinary number of wild geese and ganders, and wild 
ducks, and swans, and herons. And ail about these ditches and 
fish-ponds is the great garden, full of wild beasts, so that, when the 
Great Chan will have any sport, to take any of the wild beasts, or of 
the fowls, he will cause them to be driven, and take them at the 
windows, without going out of his chamber. 

Within the palace, in the hall, there are twenty-four pillars of 
fine gold; and all the walls are covered within with red skins of 
animals called panthers, fair beasts and well smelling; so that, for 
the sweet odor of the skins, no evil air may enter into the palace. 
The skins are as red as blood, and shine so bright against the sun 
that a man may scarcely look at them. And many people worship 
the beasts when they meet them first in a morning, for their great 
virtue and for the good smell that they have; and the skins they 
value more than if they weie plates of fine gold. And in the mid- 
dle of this palace is the mountour of the Great Chan, all wrought of 
gold and of precious stones, and great pearls; and at the four cor- 
ners are four serpents of gold; and all about there are made large 
nets of silk and gold, and great pearls hanging all about it. And 
under the mountour are conduits of beverage that they drink in the 
emperor's court. And beside the conduits are many vessels of gold, 
with which they that are of the household drink at the conduit. 

The hall of the palace is full nobly arrayed, and full marvelously 
attired on all parts, in ali things that men apparel any hall with. 
And first, at the head of the hall, is the emperor's throne, very high, 
where he sits at meat. It is of fine precious stones, bordered all 
about with purified gold and precious stones, and great pearls. And , 
the steps up to the table are of precious stones mixed with gold. 
And at the left side of the emperor's seat is the seat of his first wife, 
one step lower than the emperor, and it is of jasper, bordered with 
gold and precious stones. And the seat of his second wife is lower 
than his first wife; and is also of jasper, bordered with gold, as that 
other is And the seat of the third wife is still lower, by a step, 
than the second wife; for he has always three wives with him, wher- 



104 THE VOYAGES AND TEAVELS 

ever he is. And after his wives, on the same side, sit the ladies of 
his lineage, still lower, according to their ranks. And all those that 
are married have a counterfeit, made like a man's foot, upon their 
heads, a cubit long, all wrought with great, fine, and orient pearls, 
and above made with peacocks' feathers, and of other shining 
feathers; and that stands upon their heads like a crest, in token that 
they are under man's foot, and under subjection of man. And they 
that are unmarried have none such. 

And after, at the risjht side of the emperor, first sits his eldest son, 
who shall reign after him, one step lower than the emperor, in such 
manner of seats as do the empresses; and after him other great lords 
of his lineage, each of them a step lower than the other, according 
to their rank. The emperor has his table alone by himself, which 
is of gold and precious stones; or of crystal, bordered with gold and 
full of precious stones; or of amethysts, or of lignum aloes, that 
comes out of Paradise; or of ivory, bound or bordered with gold. 
And each of his wives has also her table by herself. And his eldest 
son, and the other lords also, and the ladies, and all that sit with 
the emperor, have very rich tables, alone by themselves. And 
under the emperor's table sit four clerks, who write all that the em- 
peror says, be it good or evil; for all that he says must be held 
good; for he may not change his word nor revoke it. 

At great feasts, men bring, before the emperor's table, great tables 
of gold, and thereon are peacocks of gold, and many other kinds of 
different fowls, all of gold, and richly wrought and enameled; and 
they make them dance and sing, clapping their wings together, and 
making great noise; and whether it be by craft or by necromancy I 
know not, but it is a goodly sight to behold. But I have the less 
marvel, because they are the most skillful men in the world in all 
sciences and in all crafts; for in subtil ty, malice, and forethought 
they surpass all men under heaven; and therefore they say them- 
selves that they see with two eyes, and the Christians see but with 
one, because they are more subtle than they. I busied myself much 
to learn that craft; but the master told me that he had made a vow 
to his god to teach it no creature, but only to his eldest son. 

Also above the emperor's table and the other tables, and above a 
great part of the hall, is a vine made of fine gold, which spreads all 
about the hall; and it has many clusters of grapes, some white, some - 
green, some yellow, some red, and some black, all of precious 
stones; the white are of cryslal, beryl, and iris; the yellow, of 
topazes; the red, of rubins, grenaz, and alabraundines; the green of 
emeralds, of perydoz, and of chrysolites; and the black of onyx and 



OF SIR JOHK MAUNDEYILLE, KT. 105 

garnets. And they are all so properly made, that it appears a real 
vine, bearing natural grapes. And before the emperor's table stand 
great lords and rich barons, and others that serve the emperor at 
meat; and no man is so bold as to speak a word, unless the emperor 
speak to him, except minstrels, that sing songs and tell jests or other 
disports to solace the emperor. 

And all the vessels that men are served with, in the hall or in 
chambers, are of precious stones, and especially at great tables, either 
of jasper, or of crystal, or of amethyst, or of fine gold. And the 
cups are of emeralds, and sapphires, or topazes, of perydoz, and of 
many other precious stones. Vessel of silver is there none, for they 
set no value on it to make vessels of; but they make therewith steps, 
and pillars, and pavements, to halls and chambers. And before the 
hall door stand many barons and knights full armed, to hinder any 
one from entering, unless by the will or command of the emperor, 
except they be servants or minstrels of the household. 

And you shall understand that my fellows and I, with our yeo- 
men, served this emperor, and were his soldiers, fifteen months, 
against the King of Mancy, who was at war with him, because we 
had great desire to see his nobleness, and the estate of his court, and 
all his government, to know if it were such as we heard say. And 
truly we found it more noble, and more excellent and rich, and 
more marvelous, than ever we heard, insomuch that we would 
never have believed it had we not seen it. For it is not there as it is 
here. For the lords here have a certain number of people as they 
may suffice; but the Great Chan hath every day people at his cost 
and expense without number. But the ordinance, nor the expenses 
in meat and drink, nor the honesty, nor the cleanliness, is not so 
arranged there as it is here; for all the commons there eat without 
cloth upon their knees; and they eat all manner of flesh, and little 
of bread. 

And after meat they wipe their hands upon their skirts, and they 
eat but once a day. But the estate of lords is full great, and rich, 
and noble. And although some men will not believe me, but hold 
it for fable, to tell them the nobleness of his person, and of his 
estate, and of his court, and of the great multitude of people that he 
has, nevertheless I will tell you a little of him and of his people, 
according as I have seen the manner and order full many a time; 
and whoever will may believe me, if he will, and whoever will not, 
may choose. 



106 THE VOYAGES AND TRAVELS 



CHAPTER XXI. 

WHEREFORE HE IS CALLED THE GREA.T CHAN — OF THE STYLE OF 
HIS LETTERS; AND OF THE SUPERSCRIPTION ABOUT HIS GREAT 
SEAL AND HIS PRIVY SEAL. 

First I shall tell you why he was called the Great Chan. You 
shall understand that all the world was destroyed by Noah's flood, 
except only Noah, and his wife, and his children. Noah had three 
sons, Shem, Cham (i.e. Ham), and Japheth. This Cham was he 
who saw his father naked when he slept, and showed him to his 
brethren in scorn, and therefore he was cursed of God. And Japheth 
turned his face away, and covered him. These three brethren 
shared all the land; and this Cham, for his cruelty, took the greater 
and the best part, toward the east, which is called Asia; and Shem 
took Africa: and Japheth took Europe; and therefore is all the earth 
parted in these three parts, by these three brethren. Cham was the 
greatest and most mighty; and of him came more generations than 
of the others. And of his son Cush was engendered Nimrod the 
giant, who was the first king that ever was in the world, and he 
began the foundation of the Tower of Babylon. 

And that time the fiends of hell came many times and lay with 
the women of his generation, and engendered on them divers peo- 
ple, as monsters, and people disfigured, some without heads, some 
with great ears, some with one eye, some giants, some with horse's 
feet, and many other different shapes contrary to nature. And of 
that generation of Cham are come the pagans, and different people 
that are in islands of the sea about India. And forasmuch as he 
was the most mighty, and no man might withstand him, he called 
himself the son of God, and sovereign of all- the world. And on 
account of this Cham, this emperor called himself Chan and sover- 
eign of all the world. And of the generation of Shem are come 
the Saracens: And of the generation of Japheth came the people of 
Israel. And though we dwell in Europe, this is the opinion that the 
Syrians and the Samaritans have amongst them, and that they told 
me before I went toward India; but I found it otherwise. 

Nevertheless the truth is this — that Tartars, and they that dwell in 
Greater Asia, came of Cham. But the Emperor of Cathay was called 
not Cham, but Chan; and I shall tell you how. It is but little more 
than eight-score years since Tartary was in subjection and servage 



OF SIE JOHST MAUNDEVILLE, KT. 107 

to other nations about; for they were but herdsmen, and did noth- 
ing but keep beasts* and lead them to pastures. But among them 
they had seven principal nations that were sovereigns of them all, 
of which the first nation or lineage was called Tartar; and that is 
the most noble and the most praised. . The second lineage is called 
Tanghot; the third, Eurache; the fourth, Yalair; the fifth, Se- 
moche; the sixth, Megly; the seventh, Coboghe. Now it befell that 
of the first lineage succeeded an old worthy man, that was not rich, 
who was called Changuys. This man lay one night in bed, and he saw 
in a vision that there came before him a knight armed all in white, 
and he sat upon a white horse, and said to him, "Chan, sleepest 
thDU? The immortal God hath sent me to thee; and it is His will 
that thou go to the seven lineages, and say to them that thou shalt 
be their emperor: for thou shalt conquer the lands and the countries 
that are about; and they that march upon you shall be under your 
subjection, as you have been under theirs; for that is God's im- 
mortal will." 

Changuys arose, and went to the seven lineages, and told them 
whit the white knight had said. And they scorned him, and said 
that he was a fool; and so he departed from them all ashamed. And 
the night following this white knight came to the seven lineages, 
and commanded them, on behalf of the immortal God, that they 
should make this Changuys their emperor, and they should be out 
of subjection, and they should 'hold all other regions about them in 
servage, as they had been to them before. And next day they chose 
him to be their emperor, and set him upon a black chest, and after 
that lifted him up with great solemnity, and set him in a chair of 
gold, and did him all manner of reverence; and thej' called him 
Chan, as the white knight called him. And when he was thus 
chosen, he would make trial if he might trust in them or not, and 
whether they would be obedient to him, and then he made many 
statutes and ordinances, that they call Ysya Chan. 

The first statute was, that they should believe in and obey im- 
mortal God, who is almighty, and who would cast them out of 
servage, and they should at all times call to Him for help in time of 
need. The second statute was, that all manner of men that might 
bear arms should be numbered, and to every ten should be a master, 
and to every hundred a master, and to every thousand a master, and 
to every ten thousand a master. After, he commanded the princi- 
pals of the seven lineages to leave and forsake all they had in goods 
and heritage, and from thenceforth to be satisfied with what he 
would give them of his grace. And they did so immediately. After 



108 THE VOYAGES AND TKAYELS 

this lie commanded the principals of the seven lineages, that each 
should bring his eldest son before him, and with their own hands 
smite off their heads without delay. And immediately his command 
Was performed. 

And when the Chan saw that they made no obstacle to perform 
his commandment, then he thought that he might well trust in 
them, and he commanded them prssently to make them ready, and 
to follow his banner. And after this the Chan put in subjection all 
the lands about him. Afterward it befell on a day that the Chan 
rode with a few companies to behold the strength of the country 
that he had won, and a great multitude of his enemies met with 
him, and to give good example of bravery to his people, he Was the 
first that fought, and rushed into the midst of his enemies, and 
there was thrown from his horse, and his horse slain. And when 
his people saw him on the earth, they were all discouraged, and 
thought he had been dead, and fled every one; and their enemies 
pursued them, but they knew not that the emperor was there. And 
When they weie returned from the pursuit they sought the woods, 
if any of them had been hid in them; and many they found and 
slew. 

So it happened that as they went searching toward the place 
where the emperor was they saw an owl sitting on a tree above him; 
and then they said amongst them that there was no man there, be- 
cause they saw the bird there, and so they went their way; and thus 
the emperor escaped death. And then he went secretly by night, 
till he came to his people, who were very glad of his coming, and 
gave great thanks to immortal God, and to that bird by which their 
lord was saved; and therefore, above all fowls of the world, they 
worship the owl; and when they have any of its feathers, they keep 
them full preciously, intead of relics, and bear them upon their 
heads with great reverence; and they hold themselves blessed, and 
safe from all perils, while they have these feathers on them, and 
therefore they bear them upon their heads. After all this the Chan 
.assembled all his people, and went against those who had assailed 
him before, and destroyed them, and put them in subjection and 
servage. 

And when he had won and put all the lands and countries on 
this side Mount Belian in subjection, the white knight came to him 
again in his sleep, and said to him, " Chan, the will of immortal God 
is, that thou pass Mount Belian; and thou shalt win the land, and 
thou shalt put many nations in subjection; and because thou shalt 
find no good passage to go toward that country, go to Mount Belian, 



OF SIR JOHtf MAUNDEVILLE, KT. 109 

which is upon the sea, and kneel there nine times toward the east, 
in the worship of immortal God, and He shall show the way to pass 
by. ' ' And the Chan did so. And soon the sea, that touched and 
was close to the mountain, began to withdraw itself, and exhibited 
a fair way of nine feet broad; and so he passed with his people, and 
won the land of Cathay, which is the greatest kingdom in the 
world. And on account of the nine kneelings, and the nine feet 
of way, the Chan and all the men of Tarlary have the number nine 
in great reverence. And, therefore, he that will make the Chan any 
present, be it horses, birds, arrows, bows, or fruit, or any other 
thing, he must always make it of the number nine; and so the 
presents are more agreeable to him, and better received, than if he 
were presented with a hundred or two hundred. 

Also, when the Chan of Cathay had won the country of Cathay, 
and put in subjection many countries about, he fell sick. And 
when he felt that he should die, he said to his twelve sons, that 
each of them should bring him one of his arrows, and so they did 
anon. And then he commanded that they should bind them to- 
gether in three places, and then he gave them to his eldest son, and 
bade him break them; and he exerted himself with all his might to 
break them, but he might not. And then the Chan bade his second 
son break them, and so to the others one after another; but none of 
them might break them. And tnen he bade the youngest son sep- 
arate them from each other, and break every one by itself, and so 
he did. And then said the Chan to his eldest son, and to all the 
others, " Wherefore might you not break them?" And they 
answered that they might not, because they were bound together. 
"And wherefore," quoth he, "hath your little youngest brother 
broke them?" " Because," quoth they, " they were separated from 
each other." Then said Ihe Chan, " My sons, truly thus will it fare 
with you; for as long as you are bound together in three places, 
that is to say, in love, truth, and good accord, no man shall have 
power to grieve you; but if you be divided from these three places, 
that one of you help not the other, you shall be destroyed and 
brought to nolhing; and if each of you love each other, and help 
each other, jou shall be lords and sovereigns over all other people.' 

And when he had made his ordinances he died; and then, after 
him, reigned Ecchecha Chan, his eldest son. And his other brethren 
went to subdue many countries and kingdoms, unto the land of 
Prussia and Russia, and took the name of Chans, but they were all 
subject to their eldest brother, and therefore was he called Great 
Chan. After Ecchecha reigned Guyo Chan, and after him Mango 



110 THE VOYAGES AND TEAVELS 

Chan, who was a good Christian man, and baptized and gave letters 
of perpelual peace to all Christian men and sent his brother Halaon, 
with a great multitude of people, to win the Holy Land, and put it 
into the hands of the Christians, and destroy the law of Mohammed, 
and take the Caliph of Bagdad, who was emperor and lord of all the 
Saracens. 

And when this Caliph was taken they found him so rich in treas- 
ure, and of so high worship, that in all the rest of the world no 
man might find a man higher in worship. And then Halaon made 
him come before him, and said to him, " Why hadst thou not hired 
with thee more soldiers for a little quantity of treasure, to defend 
thee and thy country, who art so abundant of treasure and so high 
in all worship?" And the Caliph answered, that he believed he had 
enough of his own proper men. And then said Halaon, " Thou 
wert as a god of the Saracens; and it is convenient to a god to eat 
no meat that is mortal; and, therefore, thou shalt eat only precious 
stones, rich pearls, and treasure that thou lo vest so much. " And 
then he ordered him to prison, and placed all his treasure about 
him; and so he died for hunger and thirst. And then after this 
Halaon won all the Land of Promise, and put it into the hands of 
the Christians. But the Great Chan, his brother, died, and that was 
great sorrow and loss to all Christians. After Mango Chan reigned 
Cobyla Chan, who was also a Christian, and reigned forty-two 
years. He founded the great city Igonge in Cathay, which is much 
larger than Rome. The other Great Chan who came after him, be- 
came a pagan, and all the others since. 

The kingdom of Cathay is the greatest realm in the world; and 
the Great Chan is the most powerful emperor and greatest lord 
under the firmament; and so he calls himself in his letters right 
thus, " Chan, son of the high God, emperor of all who inhabit the 
earth, and lord of all lords." And the letter of his great seal has 
the inscription, " God in heaven, Chan upon the earth, his fortitude; 
the seal of the emperor of all men." And the superscription about 
his little seal is this: " The fortitude of God; the seal of the emperor 
of all men." And although they are not christened, yet the em- 
peror and all the Tartars believe in immortal God; and when they 
will threaten any man, they say, " God knoweth well that I shall 
do thee such a thing," and tell their menace. 



OF SIR JOHtf MAUKDEVILLE, KT. Ill 



CHAPTER XXII. 

OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE GREAT CHAN'S COURT, AND WHEN 
HE MAKES SOLEMN FEASTS — OF HIS PHILOSOPHERS; AND OF 
HIS ARRAY WHEN HE RIDES ABROAD. 

Now shall I tell you the government of the court of the Great 
Chan, when he makes solemn feasts, which is principally four times 
in the year. The first feast is of his birth; the second is of his 
presentation in their temple, such as they call here moseache 
(mosque), where they make a kind of circumcision; and the other 
two feasts are of his idols. The first feast of the idol is when he is 
first put into their temple and throned. The other feast is when the 
idol begins first to speak or work miracles. There are no more 
solemn feasts, except when he marries one of his children. At each 
of these feasts he hath great multitudes of people, well ordained and 
well arrayed, by thousands, by hundreds, and by tens. Every man 
knoweth well what service he shall do; and every man gives so 
good heed and so good attendance to his service that no man finds 
any fault. 

There are first appointed four thousand barons, mighty and rich, 
to govern and make ordinance for the feast, and to serve the em- 
peror. And these solemn feasts are held in halls and tents made 
full nobly of cloths of gold and of tartaries. All the barons have 
crowns of gold upon their heads, very noble and rich, full of 
precious stones and great orient pearls. And they are all clothed in 
clothes of gold, or of tartaries, or of camakas, so richly and perfect- 
ly, that no man in the world can amend il or devise better; and all 
these robes are embroidered with gold all about, 'and dubbed full of 
precious stones and of great orient pearls, full richly. And they 
may well do so, for cloths of gold and of silk are cheaper there by 
much than are cloths of wool. 

These four thousand barons are divided into four companies, and 
every thousand is clothed in cloths all of one color, and so well 
arrayed and so richly, that it is marvel to behold. The first thou- 
sand, which is of dukes, earls, marquises, and admirals, all in cloths 
of gold, with tissues of green silk, and bordered with gold, full of 
precious stones. The second thousand is all in cloths diapered of 
red silk, all wrought with gold, and the orfrayes set full of great 
pearls and precious stones, full nobly wrought. The third thou- 



112 THE VOYAGES AND TRAVELS 

sand is clothed in cloths of silk, of purple, or of India. And the 
fourth thousand is in clothes of yellow. And all their clothes are 
so nobly and richly wrought with gold and precious stones and rich 
pearls, that if a man of this country had but one of their robes, he 
might well say that he should never be poor. For the gold and the 
precious stones, and the great orient pearls, are of greater value on 
this side the sea than in those countries. 

And when they are thus appareled they go two and two together, 
full orderly, before the emperor, without uttering a word, only 
bowing to him. And each of them carries a tablet of jasper, or 
ivory, or crystal; and the minstrels go before them, sounding their 
instruments of divers melody. When the first thousand is thus 
passed, and hath made its muster, it withdraws on the one side; and 
then enters the second thousand, and proceeds in the same manner 
of array and countenance as the first; and so the third, and then 
the fourth, and none of them utters a word. 

And at one side of the emperor's table sit many philosophers, 
who are proved for wise men in many divers sciences, as in astron- 
omy, necromancy, geomancy, pyromancy, hydromancy, augury, 
and many other sciences. And each of them has before him, some 
astrolabes of gold, some spheres, some the skull of a dead man, 
some vessels of gold full of gravel or sand, some vessels of gold full 
of burning coals, some vessels of gold full of water, wine, and oil, 
and some horloges (clocks) of gold, made full nobly and richly 
wrought, and many other sorts of instruments after their sciences. 
And at certain hours they say to certain officers who stand before 
them, appointed for the time to fulfill their command, " Make 
peace." And then the officers say, "Now peace, listen." And 
after that another of the philosophers says, " Every man do rever- 
ence, and bow to the emperor, who is God's son and sovereign lord 
of all the world; for now is time." And then every man bows his 
head toward the earth. And then the same philosopher commands 
again, "Stand up." And they do so And at another hour an- 
other philosopher says, " Put your little finger in your ears. " And 
anon they do so, And at another hour another philosopher says, 
" Put your hand before your mouth. " And anon they do so And 
at another hour another philosopher says, " Put your hand upon 
your head." And after that he biddeth them to take their hand 
away, and they do so. 

And so, from hour to hour, they command certain things. And 
they say that those things have divers significations. I asked 
them privately what those things betokened, And one of the 



OF SIR JOHN MATODEVILLE, KT. 113 



masters told me that the bowing of the head at that hour betokened 
that all those that bowed their heads should ever more after be 
obedient and true to the emperor. And the putting of the little 
finger in the ear betokens, as they say, that none of them shall hear 
anything spoken contradictory to the emperor, without telling it 
anon to his council, or discovering it to some men that will make 
relation to the emperor. And so forth of all other things done by 
the philosophers. And no man performs any duty to the emperor, 
either clothing, or bread, or wine, or bath, or other thing that be- 
longeth to him, but at certain hours, as his philosophers devise well. 

And if there fall war, anon the philosophers come and give their 
advice after their calculations, and counsel the emperor by their 
sciences; so that the emperor does nothing without their council. 
And when the philosophers have done and performed their com- 
mands, then the minstrels begin to do their minstrelsy on their 
different instruments, each after the other, with all the melody they 
can devise. And when they have performed a good while, one of 
the officers of the emperor goes up on a high stage, wrought full 
curiously, and cries and says with a loud voice, " Make peace." 
And then every man is still. And then, anon after, all the lords of 
the emperor's lineage, nobly arrayed in rich cloths of gold, and 
royally appareled on white steeds, as many as may well follow him 
at that time, are ready (o make their presents to the emperor. And 
then says the steward of the court to the lords, by name, " N. of 
N.," and names first the most noble and the worthiest by name, and 
says, " Be ye ready with such a number of white horses to serve the 
emperor your sovereign. " And, to another lord, he says, " N. of 
N., be ye ready with such a number to serve your sovereign lord." 
And to another, right so. And to all the lords of the emperor's 
lineage, one after the other, as they are of estate. 

And when they are all called they enter one after the other, and 
present the white horses to the emperor, and then go their way. 
And then, all the other barons, one by one, give him presents, or 
jewels, or some other thing, according to their rank. And then, 
after them, all the prelates of their law, and religious men and 
others ; and every man gives him something. And when all men 
have thus offered to the emperor, the greatest dignitary of the prelates 
gives him a blessing, saying an orison of their law. And then begin 
the minstrels to make their minstrelsy on divers instruments, with 
all the melody that they can devise. 

When they have done their craft, then they bring in before the 
emperor lions, leopards, ancf other divers beasts, and eagles, and 



114 THE VOYAGES AND TKAYELS 

vultures, and other divers fowls, and fishes, and serpents, to do him 
reverence. And then come jugglers and enchanters that do many 
marvels; for they cause the sun and the moon to come in the air, 
apparently, to every man's sight. And afterward they make the 
night so dark that no man may see. And after that they make the 
day to come again, fair and pleasant, with bright sun, to every 
man's sight. And then they bring in dancers of the fairest damsels 
in the world, and most richly arrayed. 

Next they cause to come in other damsels bringing cups of gold 
full of milk of divers beasts, who give drink to lords and to ladies. 
And then they make knights to joust in arms full lustily; and they 
run together and fight full fiercely; and they break their spears so 
rudely that the fragments fly in pieces all about the hall. And then 
they cause to come in hunting for the hart and for - the boar, with 
hounds running with open mouth. And many other things they do 
by craft of their enchantments, which it is marvelous to see. And 
such plays of sport they make, until the taking up of the boards. 

This Great Chan hath a vast multitude of pec pie to serve him, as 
I have told you before For he hath of minstrels the number of 
thirteen cumants, but they abide not always with him. For all the 
minstrels that come before him, of whatever nation they are are 
retained with him, as of his household, and entered in his books as 
for his own men. And after that, wheiever they go, evermore they 
rank as minstrels of the Great Chan; and, under that title, all kings 
and lords cherish them the more with gifts and all things. And 
therefore he hath so great multitude of them. And he hath of 
certain men, as though they were yeomen, that keep birds as os- 
triches, gerfalcons, sparrow-harks, gentle falcons, lanyers, sacres, 
sacrettes, well-speaking parrots, and singing birds, and also of wild 
beasts, as of elephants, tame and others, baboons, apes, monkeys, 
and other divers beasts, to the number of fifteen cumants of yeomen. 

And of Christian physicians he has two hundred; and of leeches 
that are Christians he has two hundred and ten; and of leeches and 
physicians that are Saracens, twenty; for he trusts more in the 
Christian leeches than in the Saracens. And his other common 
household is without number; all having all necessaries from the 
emperor's court. And he has in his court many barons, as servi 
tors, that are Christians, and converted to good faith by the preach- 
ing of religious Christian men who dwell with him, and there are 
many that will not have it known that they are Christians. 

This emperor may spend as much as he will, without estimation, 
for his only money is of leather imprinted, or of paper, of which 






OF SIR JOHN MAUNDEVILLE, KT. 115 



some is of greater price and some of less, after the diversity of his 
statutes. And when that money has run so long that it begins to 
waste, men carry it to the emperor's treasury, and receive new 
money for the old. And that money passes throughout the country. 
For there, and beyond them, they make no money of gold or silver, 
Therefore, he may spend very largely. And of gold and silver that 
men have in this country, he makes ceilings, pillars, and pavements 
in his palace, and other divers things. This emperor hath in his 
chamber, in one of the pillars of gold, a ruby and a carbuncle of 
half a foot long, which in the night gives so great light and shining, 
that it is as light as day. And he hath many other precious stones, 
and many other rubies and carbuncles, but those are the greatest 
and most precious. 

This emperor dwells in summer in a city toward the north, called 
Saduz, where it is cold; and in winter he dwells in a city called 
Camaaleche, in a hot country. But the country where he dwells 
most commonly is in Gaydo, or in Jong, a good and temperate country 
after the weather that is there ; but to men of our part of the world, 
it is excessively hot. And when this emperor will ride from one 
country to another, he appoints four hosts of his people, of the 
which the first host goes before him a day's journey, for that host 
shall be lodged the night where the emperor shall lie upon the mor- 
row. And there shall every man have all manner of victuals and 
necessaries at the empei or's cost. 

And in this first host the number of people is fifty cumants of 
horse and foot, of which every cumant amounts to ten thousand, as 
I have told you before. And another host goes on the right side of 
the emperor, nigh half a day's journey from him; and another goes 
on the left side of him in the same manner. And in every host is 
the same number of people. Then after comes the fourth host, 
which is much greater than any of the other, and goes behind him, 
the distance of a bow's draught. And every host has its day's 
journey ordained in certain places, where they shall be lodged at 
night, and there they shall have all they need. And if it befall that 
one of the host die, anon they put another in his place, so that the 
number shall ever be complete. 

And you shall understand that the emperor, in person, rides not 
as other great lords do, unless he choose to go privately with few 
men, to be unknown. Otherwise, he sits in a chariot with four 
wheels, upon which is made a fair chamber; and it is made of a cer- 
tain wood that comes out of terrestrial paradise, which they call 
lignum aloes. And this chamber is full well smelling, because of 



116 THE VOYAGES AHD TRAVELS 

the wood it is made of; and it is all covered internally with plates of 
fine gold, dubbed with precious stones and great pearls. And four 
elephants and four great steeds, all white and covered with rich cov- 
erings, draw the chariot. And four, or five, or six of the greatest 
lords ride about this chariot, full richly and nobly arrayed, so that 
no man shall approach the chariot except those lords, unless the 
emperor call any man to him that he wishes to speak with. And 
above the chamber of this chariot in which the emperor sits, are set 
upon a perch, four, five, or six gerfalcons, to that intent, that when 
the emperor sees any wild fowl, he may take it at his own list, and 
have the sport, first with one and then with another; and so he 
takes his sport passing through the country. 

And no man of his company rides before him, but all after him. 
And no man dare approach within a bow- shot of the chariot, except 
those lords only that are about him, and all the host come fairly 
after him, in great multitude. And also such another chariot, with 
such hosts, ordained and arrayed, go with the empress upon another 
side, each by itself, with four hosts, right as the emperor did, but 
not with so great multitude of people. And his eldest son goes by 
another way in another chariot, in the same manner. So that there 
is between them so great multitude of folks that it is marvelous to 
tell it. And sometimes it happens that when he will not go far, 
and he chooses to have the empress and his children with him, that 
they go all together; and then the people are mixed in one company 
and divided in four parts only. 

The empire of this Great Chan is divided into twelve provinces; 
and every province has more than two thousand cities, and towns 
without number. This country is very extensile, for it has twelve 
principal kings in twelve provinces; and each of those kings has 
many kings under him; and they are all subject to the Great- 
Chan. And his land and lordship extends so far that a man may 
not go from one end to the other, either by sea or land, in less than 
seven years. And through the deserts of his lordship, where are 
no towns, there are inns appointed at every day's journey, to receive 
both man and horse, in which they shall find plenty of victuals and 
all things they need in their way. 

And there is a marvelous, but profitable, custom in that country, 
that if there happen any contrary thing that should be prejudicial 
or grievous to the emperor, in any kind, anon the emperor has tid- 
ings thereof and full knowledge in a day, though it be three or four 
days from him, or more. For his envoys take their dromedaries, 
or their horses, and they ride as fast as they may toward one of the 



OP SIR JOHN MAUHDEVILLE, KT. 117 

inns; and when they come there they blow a horn, and anon they 
of the inn know that there are tidings to warn the emperor of some 
rebellion against him; and they make other men ready, in all haste 
that they may, to carry letlers, and ride as fast as they may, till they 
come to the other inns with their letters; and then they make fresh 
men ready, to ride forth with the letters toward the emperor, while 
the last bringer rests himself, and baits his dromedary or horse; and 
so from inn to inn, till it comes 1o the emperor. And thus anon he 
has quick tidings of anything by his couriers, that run so hastliy 
through all the country. 

And, also, when the emperor sends his couriers in haste through- 
out his land, each of them has a large thong full of small bells; and 
when they approach the inns of other couriers, they ring their bells; 
and anon the other couriers make them ready, and run their way 
to another inn; and thus one runs to another, full speedily and 
swiftly, till the emperor's intent be served in all haste. And these 
couriers are called chydydo, after their language, that is to say, a 
messenger. 

Also when the emperor goes from one country to another, as I 
have told you before, and he passes through cities and towns, every 
man makes a fire before his door, and puts therein powder of good 
gums, that are sweet smelling, to make good savor to the emperor; 
and all the people kneel down toward him, and do him great rever- 
ence. And there, where Christian monks dwell, as they do in 
many cities in the land, they go before him in'procession, with cross 
and holy water; and they sing Veni creator spiritus, with a high 
voice, and go toward him. And when he hears them, he commands 
his lords to ride beside him, that the religious men may come to 
him; and when they are nigh him with the cross, then he puts down 
his galiot, which is placed on his head in the manner of a chaplet, 
made of gold, and precious stones, and great pearls; and it is so 
rich that men esteem it the value of a realm in that country; and 
then he kneels to the cross. And then the prelate of the monks 
says before him certain orisons, and gives him a blessing with the 
cross; and he bows to the blessing full devoutly. And then the 
prelate gives him some sort of fruit, to the number of nine, in a 
plate of silver; and he takes one; and then men give to the other 
lords that are about him; for the custom is such that no stranger 
shall come before him unless he give him some manner of thing, 
after the old law, that says, Nemo accedat in conspectu meo vacuus. 
And then the emperor tells the monks to withdraw themselves again, 
that they be not hurt by the great multitude of horses that come be- 



118 THE VOYAGES AND TRAVELS 

hind him. And also in the same manner do the monks that dwell 
there to the empresses that pass by them, and to his eldest son; and 
to all of them they present fruit. 

And you shall understand that this multitude of people dwell not 
continually with him, but are sent for when he wants them; and 
after, when they have done, they return to their own households, 
except those that are dwelling with him in the household to serve 
him, and his wives and sons. And although the others are departed 
from him after they have performed their service, yet there remain 
continually with him in court fifty thousand horsemen, and twenty 
thousand footmen, besides minstrels and those who keep wild beasts 
and birds There is not, under the firmament, so great a lord, nor 
so mighty, nor so rich, as the Great Chan; neither Prester John, who 
is Emperor of Upper India, nor the Sultan of Babylon, nor the 
Emperor of Persia 

AH these, in comparison to the Great Chan, are neither of might, 
nobleness, royalty, nor riches, for in all these he surpasses all 
earthly princes. Wherefore it is great harm that he believes not 
faithfully in God And, nevertheless, he will gladly hear speak of 
God, and he willingly allows Christian men to dwell in his lordship, 
and men of his faith to be made Christian men, if they will, 
throughout all his country, for he forbids no man to hold any faith 
but what he likes 

In that country some men have one hundred wives, some sixty, 
some more, and some less. And they take the next of their kin to 
wife, excepting only their mothers, daughters, and sisters on the 
mother's side; but their sisters on the father's side, of another 
woman, they may take and their brothers' wives, also, after their 
death; and Iheir step-mothers also in the same way. 



CBAPTEK XXni. 

OF THE LAW AND CUSTOMS OF THE TARTARS LN CATHAY; AND HOW 
MEN DO WHEN THE EMPEROR SHALL DLE, AND HOW HE SHALL 
BE CHOSEN. 

The people of that country use all long clothes, without furs; 
and they are clothed with precious cloths of Tartary, and cloths of 
gold. And their clothes are slit at the side, and fastened with silk 
lace; and they clothe them also with pilches, the hide outside. And 
they use neither cap nor hood. And the women go in the same 
dress as the men; so that we can hardly distinguish the men from 



OF SIR JOHK MAUKDEVILLE, KT. 119 

the women, except only that the women that are married bear upon 
their heads the token of a man's foot, in sign that they are under 
man's foot, and under the subjection of man. And their wives 
dwell not together;, but each of them by herself; and the husband 
may lie with which of them he likes. Each has a separate house, 
both man and woman; and their houses are made round with 
staves, with a round window above, which gives them light, and 
also serves for the escape of smoke. And the roofing of their houses, 
and the walls, and the doors, are all of wood. 

When they go to war, they take their houses with them upon 
chariots, as men do tents or pavilions. They make their fires in the 
middle of their houses And they have' a great multitude of all 
manner of beasts, except swine, which they do not breed. And they 
believe in one God, who made and formed all things, yet they have 
idols of gold and silver, and of wood and of cloth, to which they 
offer always the first milk of their beasts, and also of their meats 
and drinks before they eat. And they frequently offer horses and 
beasts. They call the god of nature Yroga. Their emperor, what- 
ever name he has, they add always to it Chan; and, when I was there, 
their emperor's name was Thiaut, so that he was called Thiaut Chan; 
and his eldest son was called Tossue; and when he shall be emperor, 
he shall be called Tossue Chan. And at that time the emperor had 
twelve other sons, named Cuncy, Ordii, Chahaday, Buryn, Negu, 
Nocab, Cadu, Siban, Cuten, Balacy, Babylan, and Garegan. And 
of his three wives, the first and the principal, who was Prester 
John's daughter, was named Serioche Chan; and the other Borak 
Chan; and the other Karanke Oham 

The people of that country begin all undertakings in the new 
moon; and they worship much the moon and the sun, and often 
kneel toward them. Ail the people of the country ride commonly 
without spurs; but they carry always a little whip in their hands to 
urge their horses. And they hold it for a great sin to cast a knife in 
the fire, and to draw flesh out of a pot with a knife, and to smite a 
horse with the handle of a whip, or to smite a horse with a bridle, 
or to break one bone with another, or to cast milk or any liquor that 
men may drink upon the earth, or to take and slay little children. 

And of every one of these sins they must be shriven by their 
priests, and pay a great sum of silver for their penance. The place 
they have thus defiled must be purified before any one dare to enter 
it. And when they have paid their penance, men make them pass 
through a fire, or through two, to cleanse them of their sins. And 
also when any messenger comes and brings letters, or any present, 



120 THE VOYAGES AND TEAYELS 

to the emperor, he must pass, with the thing that he brings, through 
two burning fires, to purge them, that he bring no poison nor venom, 
nor any wicked thing, that might be grievance to the lord. And 
also, if any man or woman be taken in adultery or fornication, anon 
they slay them. 

The people of that country are all good archers, and shoot right 
well, both men and women, as well on horseback, riding, as on 
foot, running. And the women do all things, and exercise all man- 
ner of trades and crafts, as of clothes, boots, and other things; and 
they drive carts, plows, wagons, and chariots; and make houses, 
and all manner of things, except bows and arrows, and armor, 
which are made by men. And all the women wear breeches, as 
well as men. All the people of that country are very obedient to 
their sovereign, and fight not nor chide with one another. And 
there are neither thieves nor robbers in that country, but every man 
respects the other; but no man there doth reverence to strangers, 
except they are great princes. 

And they eat dogs, lions, leopards, mares and foals, asses, rats, 
and mice; and all kinds of beasts, great and small, except only 
swine, and beasts that were forbidden by the old law. They eat 
but little bread, except in courts of great lords; and they have not, 
in many places, either pease or beans, nor any other pottage but the 
broth of the flesh; for they eat little else but flesh and the broth. 
And when they have eaten they wipe their hands upon their skirts; 
for they use no napkins or towels, except before great lords. And 
when they have eaten, they put their dishes, unwashed, into the pot 
or caldron, with the remnant of the flesh and broth, till 1hey eat 
again. The rich men drink milk of mares, or camels, or of asses, 
or other beasts. And they are easily made drunk with milk, or 
with another drink made of honey and water sodden together; for 
in that country is neither wine nor ale. They live full wretchedly, 
and eat but once in the day, and that but little, either in courts or 
other places. Indeed one man alone, in our country, will eat more 
in a day than they will eat in three. And if any foreign messenger 
come there to a lord, men make him to eat but once a day, and that 
very little. 

When they make war they proceed with great prudence, and al- 
ways do their best to destroy their enemies. Every man there bears 
two or three bows, and great plenty of arrows, and a great ax; and 
the gentlemen have short and large spears, very sharp on the one 
side; and they have plates and helmets made of cuirbouilli; and 
their horses' coverings are of the same. And whoever flies from 



OF SIR JOHN MAtJNDEVILLE, KT. 121 

battle they slay him. And when they hold a siege about a castle 
or town, which is walled and defensible, they promise them that are 
within to do all the profit and good, that it is marvelous to hear; and 
they grant also to them that are within all that they will ask them; 
and after they have surrendered, they slay them all, and cut off 
their ears, and pickle them in vinegar, and thereof make great serv- 
ice for lords. All their desire, and all their imagination, is to reduce 
all countries under their subjection; and they say that they knew 
well, by their prophecies, that they shall be overcome by archers; 
but they know not of what nation, nor of what law, they shall be 
who shall overcome them. 

When they will make their idols, or any image of any one of their 
friends, to have remembrance of him, they always make the image 
naked, without any kind of clothing; for they say that in good love 
there should be no covering, that man should not love for the fair 
clothing, nor for the rich array, but only for the body such as God 
hath made it. 

And you shall understand that it is very perilous to pursue the 
Tartars when they fly in battle; for in flying they shoot behind 
them, and slay both men and horses. And when they fight, they 
close together in a body, so that if there be twenty thousand men, 
you would not think there were ten thousand. They can conquer 
land of strangers, but they can not keep it; for they like better to lie 
in tents without, than in castles or in towns. They despise all other 
people. Amongst them oil of olives is very dear; for they hold it 
for a very noble medicine. All the Tartars have small eyes and lit- 
tle beard, and a paucity of hair. They are false and traitorous, 
never keeping their promises. They are a very hardy people, and 
able to endure much labor, more than any other people; for they are 
accustomed thereto in their own country from youth. 

And when any man shall die they set a spear beside him; and when 
he draws toward death every man flies out of the house till he is 
dead; and after that they bury him in the fields. And when the 
emperor dies, they place him in a chair in the center of his tent, 
with a clean table before him, covered with a cloth, and thereon flesh 
and divers viands, and a cup full of mare's milk. And men put a 
mare beside him, with her foal, and a horse saddled and bridled; 
and they lay upon the horse great quantities of gold and silver, and 
they put about him great plenty of straw, and they make a great 
and large pit, and, with the tent and all these other things, they put 
him in the earth; and they say that when he shall come into an- 
other world, he shall not be without a house, nor without a horse, 



122 THE VOYAGES ANT> TRAVELS 

nor without gold and silver; and the mare shall give him milk, and 
bring him forth more horses, till he be well stored in the other 
world; for they believe that, after their death, they shall be eating 
and drinking in that other world, and solacing themselves with their 
wives, as they did here. 

And after the emperor is thus interred, no man shall be so hardy 
as to speak of him before his friends. Many cause themselves to be 
interred privately by night, in wild places, *nd the grass put again 
over the pit, to grow; or they cover the pit with gravel and sand, 
that no man shall perceive where the pit is, to the intent that never 
after may his friends have mind or remembrance of him. Then 
they say that he is ravished into another world, where he is a greater 
lord than he was here. 

And then, after the death of the emperor, the seven lineages 
assemble together, and choose his eldest son, or the next after him 
of his blood; and thus they say to him: " We will, and we pray 
and ordain, that you be our lord and our emperor." And then he 
answers, " If you will that I reign over you as lord, each of you 
do as I shall command him, either to abide or go; and whomsoever 
I command to be slain, that anon he be slain." And they answer 
all, with one voice, " Whatsoever you command it shall be done." 
Then says the emperor, ' ' Now understand well that my word from 
henceforth is sharp and biting as a sword." After, they set him 
upon a black steed, and so bring him to a chair full richly arrayed, 
and there they crown him. And then all the cities and good towns 
send him rich presents, so that at that day he shall have more than 
sixty chariots laden with gold and silver, besides jewels of gold and 
precious stones, that lords give him, that are "beyond estimation; 
and also horses and cloths of gold, and camakas, and cloth of 
Tartary, that are innumerable. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

OF THE REALM OF THARSE, AND THE LANDS AND KINGDOMS TO- 
WARD THE NORTH PARTS, IN COMING DOWN FROM THE LAND 
OF CATHAY. 

This land of Cathay is in Central Asia; and after, on this side, is 
Asia the Greater. The kingdom of Cathay borders toward the west 
on the kingdom of Tharse, of which was one of the kings that came 
with presents to our Lord in Bethlehem, and some of those who are 






OF SIR JOHtf MAUKDEVILLE, KT. 123 



of the lineage of that king are Christians. In Tharse they eat no 
flesh, and drink no wine. And on this side, toward the west, is the 
kingdom of Turkestan, which extends toward the west to the king- 
dom of Persia; and toward the north to the kingdom of Chorasm. 
In the center of Turkestan are but few good cities; but the best city 
of that land is called Octorar. There are great pastures, but little 
corn; and therefore, for the most part, they are all herdsmen; and 
they lie in tents, and drink a kind of ale made of honey. 

And after it, on this side, is the kingdom of Chorasm (Khorasan), 
which is a good land and a plentiful, but without wine. It has a 
desert toward the east, which extends more than a hundred days' 
journey; and the best city of that country is called Chorasm, from 
which the country takes its name. The people of that country are 
hardy warriors. And on this side is the kingdom of Comania, 
whence were driven the Comanians that dwelt in Greece. This is 
one of the greatest kingdoms of the world, but it is not all inhabited 
for in one part there is so great cold that no man may dwell there 
and in another part there is so great heat that no man can endure it 
and also there are so many flies, that no man may know on what 
side he may turn him. In that country is but little wood or trees 
bearing fruit, or others. They lie in tents; and they burn the dung 
of beasts for want of wood. 

This kingdom descends on this side toward us, and toward Prus- 
sia and Russia. And through that country runs the River Ethille, 
which is one of the greatest rivers in the world; and it freezes so 
strongly all year that many times men have fought upon the ice 
with great armies, both parties on foot, having quitted their horses 
for the time; and what on horse and foot, more than 200,000 per- 
sons on every' side. And between that river and the great Sea of 
Ocean, which they call the Maure Sea, lie all these kingdoms. And 
toward the head beneath in that realm is the mountain of Chotaz, 
which is the highest mountain in the world; and it is between the 
Maure Sea and the Caspian Sea. There is a very narrow and 
dangerous passage to go toward India; and therefore King Alexan- 
der made there a strong city, which they call Alexandria, to guard 
the country, that no man should pass without his leave; and now 
men call that city the Gate of Hell. 

And the principal city of Comania is called Sarak, which is one of 
the three ways to go into India; but by this way no great multitude of 
people can pass unless it be in winter; and that passage men call 
the Derbent. The other way is from the city of Turkestan, by Per- 
sia; and by that way is many days' journey by desert; and the 



124 THE VOYAGES AND TRAVELS 

third way is from Comania, by the Great Sea, and by the kingdom 
of Abchaz. 

And you shall understand that all these kingdom and lands above 
mentioned, unto Prussia and Russia, are all subject to the Great 
Chan of Cathay, and many other countries that border on them. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

OP THE EMPEROR OP PERSIA, AND OP THE LAND OF DARKNESS, 
AND OF OTHER KINGDOMS THAT BELONG TO THE GREAT CHAN 
OP CATHAY, AND OTHER LANDS OF HIS, UNTO THE SEA OF 
GREECE. 

Now, since I have spoken of the lands and the kingdoms toward 
the north part, in coming down from the land of Cathay unto the 
lands of the Christians, toward Prussia and Russia, I will speak of 
other lands and kingdoms coming down toward the right side, unto 
the Sea of Greece, toward the land of the Christians. And since, 
after India and Cathay, the Emperor of Persia is the greatest lord, I 
will tell you of the kingdom of Persia. 

He hath two kingdom; the first begins toward the east, toward 
the kingdom of Turkestan, and extends toward the west to the 
River Pison, which is one of the four rivers that come out of Para- 
dise. And on another side it extends toward the north to the Cas- 
pian Sea, and toward the south to the desert of India. And this 
country is good, and pleasant, and full of people, and contains 
many good cities. But the two principal cities are Boycurra and 
Seornergant, that some men call Sormagant. The other kingdom 
of Persia extends toward the River Pison, and the parts of the west, 
to the kingdom of Media, and from the Great Armenia toward the 
north to the Caspian Sea, and toward the south to the land of India. 
That is also a good and rich land, and it hath three great principal 
cities, Messabor, Caphon, and Sarmassane. 

And then after is Armenia, in which were formerly four king- 
doms; it is a noble country, and full of goods. And it begins at 
Persia, and extends toward the west in length unto Turkey, and in 
breadth it extends to the city of Alexandria, that now is called the 
Gate of Hell, that I spoke of before, under the kingdom of Media. 
In this Armenia are many good cities, but Taurizo is most of name. 

After this is the kingdom of Media, which is very long, but not 
broad, beginning, toward the east, with the land of Persia, and 



OF SIR JOBf^ MAUKDEVILLE, KT. 125 

India the Less; and it extends toward the west to the kingdom of 
Chaldea, and toward the north toward Little Armenia. In that 
kingdom of Media are many great hills and little of lerel ground. 
Saracens dwell there, and another kind of people called Cordines. 
The two best cities of that kingdom are Sarras and Karemen. 

After that is the kingdom of Georgia, which commences toward 
the east, at the great mountain called Abzor, and contains many 
people of different nations. And men call the country Alamo. 
This kingdom extends toward Turkey, and toward the Great Sea; 
and toward the south it borders on the Greater Armenia. And 
there are two kingdoms in that country, the kingdom of Georgia 
and the kingdom of Abchaz; and always in that country are two 
kings, both Christians; but the King of Georgia is in subjection to 
the Great Chan. And the King of Abchaz has the stronger country, 
and he always vigorously defends his country against all who 
assail him, so that no man may reduce him to subjection. 

In that kingdom of Abchaz is a great marvel; for a province of 
the country, that has well in circuit three days, which they call 
Hanyson, is all covered with darkness, without any brightness or 
light, so that no man can see there, nor no man dare enter into it. 
And, nevertheless, they of the country say that sometimes men hear 
voices of people, and horses neighing, and cocks crowing; and men 
know well that men dwell there, but they know not what men. 
And they say that the darkness befell by miracle of God; for a 
cursed emperor of Persia, named Saures, pursued all the Christians 
to destroy them, and to compel them to make sacrifice to his idols, 
and rode with a great host, in all that ever he might, to confound 
the Christians. 

And then, in that country, dwelt many good Christians who left 
their goods, and would have fled into Greece; and when they were 
in a plain, called Megon, anon this cursed emperor met with them 
with his hDSt, to have slain them and cut them to pieces. And the 
Christians kneeled to the ground, and made their prayers to God to 
succor them; and anon a great thick cloud came, and covered the 
emperor and all his host; and so they remain in that manner, that 
they may go out on no side; and so shall they ever more abide in 
darkness till doomsday, by the miracles of God. And then the 
Christians went where they liked at their own pleasure, without 
hinderance of any creature. And you shall understand that out of 
that land of darkness issues a great river, that shows well there are 
people dwelling there, by many ready tokens; but no man dare 
enter into it 



126 THE VOYAGES AND TEAYELS 

And know well that in the kingdoms of Georgia, Abchaz, and 
the Little Armenia, are good and devout Christian; for they shrive 
and housel themselves always once or twice in the week; and many 
housel themselves every day. 

Also, after, on this side, is Turkey, which borders on the Great 
Armenia. And there are many provinces, as Cappadocia, Saure, 
Brique, Quesiton, Pytan, and Gemethe; and in each of these are 
many good cities. This Turkey extends to the city of Sathala, that 
sitteth upon the Sea of Greece, and so it borders on Syria. Syria is 
a great and a good country, as 1 have told you before. And also it 
has, toward Upper India, the kingdom of Chaldea, extending from 
the mountains of Chaldea toward the east to the city of Nineveh on 
the River Tigris; in breadth it begins toward the north, al the city 
of Maraga, and extends toward the south to the Sea of Ocean. 
Chaldea is a level country, with few hills and few rivers. 

After this is the kingdom, of Mesopotamia, which begins toward 
the east, at the River Tigris, at a city called Moselle., and ex- 
tends toward the west to the River Euphrates, to a city called 
Roianz; and in length it extends from the mountain of Armenia to 
the desert of India the Less. This is a good and level country; but 
it has few rivers. There are but two mountains in that country, of 
which one is called Symar, the other Lyson. This land borders on 
the kingdom of Chaldea. 

There are also, toward the south parts, many countries and re- 
gions, as the land of Ethiopia, which borders toward the east 
on the great deserts, toward the west on the kingdom of Nubia, 
toward the south on the kingdom of Mauritania, and toward 
the north on the Red Sea. After is Mauritania, which ex- 
tends from the mountains of Ethiopia to Upper Lybia. And that 
country lies along from the Ocean Sea toward the south, and to- 
ward the north it borders on Nubia and Upper Lybia. The men of 
Nubia are Christians. And it extends trom the lands above men- 
tioned to the deserts of Egypt, of which I have spoken before. And 
after is Upper and Lower Lybia, which descends low down, toward 
the great Sea of Spain, in which country are many kingdoms and 
different people. 



OF SIR JOHN MAUNDEVILLE, KT. 127 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

OF THE COUNTRIES AND ISLANDS BEYOND THE LAND OP CATHAY, 
AND OF THE FRUITS THERE; AND OF TWENTY-TWO KINGS IN* 
CLOSED WITHIN THE MOUNTAINS. 

In passing by the land of Cathay toward Upper India and toward 
Bucharia, men pass by a kingdom called Caldilhe, which is a very 
fair country. And there grows a kind of fruit like gourds, which, 
when they are ripe, men cut in two, and find within a little beast, 
in flesh, bone, and blood, as though it were a little lamb, without 
wool. And men eat both the fruit and the beast, and that is a great 
marvel. Of that fruit I have eaten; and I told them of as great a 
marvel to them that is amongst us, and that was of the barnacles. 
Fo** I told them that in our country .were trees that bear a fruit that 
becomes flying birds; and those that fall in the water live; and 
those that fall on the earth die anon; and they are right good for 
man's meat. And thereof had they also great marvel, that some 
of them thought it was an impossibility. 

In that country are long apples, of good flavor, whereof there are 
more than a hundred in a cluster; and they have great long leaves 
and large, of two feet long or more. And in that country, and in 
other countries thereabout, grow many trees that bear clove-gylofres 
and nutmegs, and great nuts of India, and of canelle, and many 
other spices. And there are vines which bear grapes so large that a 
strong man would have enough to do to carry one cluster. In that 
same region are the mountains of Caspia, which are called Uber in 
the country. Between those mountains are inclosed the Jews of ten 
lineages, who are called Gog and Magog; and they may not go out 
on any side. 

There were inclosed twenty-two kings with their people, that 
dwelt between the mountains of Scythia. King Alexander drove 
them between those mountains, and there he thought to inclose 
them through work of his men. But when he saw that he might 
not do it, nor bring it to an end, he prayed to the God of Nature 
that He would perform that which he had begun. And although 
he was a pagan, and not worthy to be heard, yet God of His grace 
closed the mountains together, so that they dwell there fast locked 
and inclosed with high mountains all about, except only on one side, 



128 THE VOYAGES AKD TRAVELS 

and on that side is the Caspian Sea. Men say they shall come out 
in the time of Antichrist, and that they shall make great slaughter 
of the Christians, and therefore all the Jews that dwell in all lands 
learn always to speak Hebrew, in hope that when the other Jews 
shall go out, they may understand their speech, and so lead 
them into Christendom, to destroy the Christians. For the Jews 
say that they know well, by their prophecies, that they of Caspia 
shall go out, and spread through all the world, and that the Chris- 
tians shall be under subjection as long as they have been in subjec- 
tion to them. 

And if you will know how they shall find their way, after what I 
have heard say I will lell you. In the time of Antichrist, a fox 
shall make there his trail, and burrow a hole where King Alexander 
made the gates; and so long he shall burrow and pierce the earth, 
till he shall pass through, toward that people. And when they see 
the fox they shall have great wonder of him, because they never 
saw such a beast; for of all other beasts they have some inclosed 
among them, except the fox. And then they shall hunt him, and 
pursue him so close, till he arrive at the same place he came from; 
and then they shall dig and burrow so strongly, till they find the 
gates that king Alexander made of immense stones, well cemented 
and made strong for the mastery; and those gates they shall break, 
and so go out, by finding that issue. 

From that land men go toward the land of Bucharia, where are 
very evil and cruel people. In that land are trees that bear wool, as 
though it were of sheep, whereof men make clothes, and all things 
that may be made of wool. In that country are many ipotaynes, 
that dwell sometimes in the water and sometimes on the land; and 
they are half man and half horse, as I have said before: and they 
eat men, when they may take them. And there are rivers of water 
that are very bitter, three times more than is the water of the sea. 
In that country are many griffins, more abundant than in any other 
country. Some men say that they have the body upward of an - 
eagle, and beneath of a lion; and that is true. But one griffin has 
a greater body and is stronger than eight lions, and greater and 
stronger than a hundred eagles. For one griffin there will carry, 
flying to his nest, a great horse, or two oxen yoked together, as 
they go at the plow. For he has his talons so long, and so large 
and great, as though they were horns of great oxen, or of bulls, or 
of kine, so that men make cups of them to drink out of; and of 
their ribs, and of the feathers of their win s, men make bows full 
strong, to shoot with arrows and darts. From thence men go, by 



OF SIR JOHtf MAU2STDEVILLE, KT. 129 

many days, through the land of Prester John, the great Emperor of 
India. And they call his kingdom the Isle of Pentexoire. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

OP THE ROYAL ESTATE OP PRESTER JOHN; AND OP A RICH MAN 
THAT MADE A MARVELOUS CASTLE, AND CALLED IT PARADISE, 
AND OP HIS CUNNING. 

This emperor, Prester John, possesses very extensive territory, 
and has many very noble cities and good towns in bis realm, and 
many great and large isles. For all the country of India is divided 
into isles, by the great floods that come from Paradise, that separate 
all the land into many parts. And also in the sea he has full many 
isles. And the best city in the Isle of Pentexoire is Nyse, a very 
royal city, nobie and very rich. This Prester John has under him 
many kings, and many isles and many divers people of divers con- 
ditions. And this land is full good and rich, but not so rich as 
the land of the Great Chan. For the merchants come not thither so 
commonly to buy merchandise, as they do in the land of the Great 
Chan, for it is too far. 

And on the other side, in the Isle of Cathay, men find all things 
needful to man, cloths of gold, of silk, and spicery. And therefore, 
although men have them cheap in the Isle of Prester John, they 
dread the long way and the great perils in the sea. For in many 
places of the sea are great rocks of stone of adamant (loadstone), 
which of its nature draws iron to it; and therefore there pass no 
ships that have either bonds or nails of iron in them; and if they 
do, anon the rocks of adamant draw them to them, that they may 
never go thence. I myself have seen afar in that sea, as though it 
had been a great isle full of trees and bushes, full of thorns and 
briers, in great plenty; and the shipmen told us that all that was of 
ships that were drawn thither by the adamants, for the iron that was 
in them. And of the rottenness and other things that were within 
the ships, grew such bushes, and thorns, and briers, and green grass, 
and such kinds of things; and of the masts and the sail-yards, it 
seemed a great wood or a grove. 

And such rocks are in many places thereabout. And therefore 
merchants dare not pass there, except they know well the passages, 
or unless they have good pilots. And also they dread the long way, 
and, therefore, they go to Cathay, because it is nearer; and yet it is 



130 THE VOYAC4ES AKD TRAYELS 

not so nigh but men must travel by sea and land eleven or twelve 
months, from Genoa or from Venice, to Cathay. And yet is the 
land of Prester. John more far, by many dreadful days' journey. 
And the merchants pass by the kingdom of Persia, and go to a city 
called Hermes, because Hermes the philosopher founded it. And 
after that they pass an arm of the sea, and then they go to another 
city called Golbache; and there they find merchandise, and as great 
abundance of parrots as men find here of geese. In that county is 
but little wheat or barley, and therefore they eat rice and honey, 
milk, cheese, and fruit. 

This emperor, Prester John, takes always to wife the daughter of 
1he Great Chan; and the Great Chan also in 1 he same wise the daugh- 
ter of Prester John. For they two are the greatest lords under the 
firmament. 

In the land of Prester John are many divers things and many 
precious stones, so great and so large, that men make of them plates, 
dishes, cups, etc. And many other marvels are there, that it were 
too long to put in a book. But I will tell you of his principal isles, 
and of # his estale, and of his law. This Emperor Prester John is a 
Christian, and a great part of his country also; but they have not 
all the articles of our faith. They believe in the Father, Son, and 
Holy Ghost, and they are very devout and true to one another. And 
he has under him seventy-two provinces, and in every province is a 
king, all which kings are tributary to Prester John. And in his 
lordships are many great marrels, for in his country is the sea called 
the Gravelly Sea, which is all gravel and sand, without a drop of 
water; and it ebbs and flows in great waves, as other seas do, and 
it is never still. And no man can pass that sea with ships, and, 
therefore, no man knows what land is beyond that sea. And al- 
though it has no water, men find therein, and on the banks, very 
good fish, of different nature and shape from what are found in any 
other sea; and they are of very good taste, and delicious to eat. 

Three days from that sea are great mountains, out of which runs 
a great river which comes from Paradise, and it is full of precious 
stones, without a drop of water, and it runs through the desert, on 
one side, so that it makes the Gravelly Sea where it ends. And 
that river runs only three daj^s in the week, and brings with it great 
stones and the rocks also therewith, and that in great plenty. And 
when they are entered into the Gravelly Sea they are seen no more. 
And in those three days that that river runneth, no man dare enter 
into it, but in the other days men dare enter well enough. Beyond 
that river, more up toward the deserts, is a great plain all gravelly 



OF SIR JOHK MAUNDEVILLE, KT. 131 

between the mountains; and in that plain, every day at sunrise, 
small trees begin to grow, and they grow till midday, bearing fruit; 
but no man dare take of that fruit, for it is a thing of fairie. And 
after midday they decrease and enter again into the earth, so that at 
sunset they appear no more; and so they do every day. 

In that desert are many wild men, hideous to look on, and horned; 
and they speak naught, but grunt like pigs. And there is also great 
plenty of wild dogs. And there are many parrots, which speak of 
their own nature, and salute men that go through the deserts, and 
speak to them as plainly as though it were a man. And they that 
speak well have a large tongue, and have five toes upon each foot. 
And there are also others which have but three toes upon each foot, 
and they speak but little. 

This Emperor Prester John, when he goes to battle against any 
other lord, has no banners borne before him; but he has three large 
crosses of gold full of precious stones; and each cross is set in a 
chariot full richly arrayed. And to keep each cross are appointed 
ten thousand men of arms, and more than one hundred thousand 
footmen. And this number of people is independent of the chief 
army. And when he has no war, but rides with a private company, 
he has before him but one plain cross of wood, in remembrance that 
Jesus Christ suffered death upon a wooden cross. And they carry 
before him also a platter of gold full of earth, in token that his 
nobleness, and his might, and his flesh, shall turn to earth. And he 
has borne before him also a vessel of silver, full of noble jewels of 
gold and precious stones, in token of his lordship, nobility, and 
power. He dwells commonly in the city of Susa, and there is his 
principal palace, which is so rich and noble that no man can con- 
ceive it without seeing it. 

And above the chief tower of the palace are two round pommels 
of gold, in each of which are two large carbuncles, which shine 
bright in the night. And the principal gates of his palace are of the 
precious stones called sardonyx; and the border and bars are of 
ivory; and the windows of the halls and chambers are of crystal; 
and the tables, on which men eat, some are of emeralds, some of 
amethyst, and some of gold, full of precious stones; and the pillars 
that support the tables are of the same precious stones. Of the steps 
approaching his throne, where he sits at meat, one is of onyx, an- 
other crystal, another green jasper, another amethyst, another sar- 
donyx, another carnelian, and the seventh, on which he sets his feet, 
is of chrysolite. All these steps are bordered with fine gold, with 
the other precious stones, set with great orient pearls. The sides 



132 THE VOYAGES AND TRAVELS 

of the seat of his throne are of emeralds, and bordered full nobly 
with gold, and dubbed with other precious stones and great pearls. 
All the pillars in his chamber are of fine gold with precious stones, 
and with many carbuncles, which give great light by night to all 
people. And although the carbuncle gives light enough, neverthe- 
less at all times a vessel of crystal, full of balm, is burning, to give 
good smell and odor to the emperor, and to expel all wicked airs and 
corruptions. 

The frame of his bed is of fine sapphires blended with gold, to 
make him sleep well. He hath also a very fair and noble palace in 
the city of Nice, where he dwells when he likes; but the air is not 
so temperate as it is at the city of Susa. And you shall understand 
that in his country, and in the countries surrounding, men eat but 
once in the day, as they do in the court of the Great Chan. And 
more than thirty thousand persons eat every day in his court, besides 
goers and comers, but these thirty thousand persons spend not so 
much as twelve thousand of our country. 

This Emperor Prester John has evermore* seven kings with him, 
to serve him, who share their service by certain months; and with 
these kings serve always seventy-two dukes and three hundred and 
sixty earls. And all the days of the year, twelve archbishops and 
twenty bishops eat in his household and in his court. And the 
Patriarch of St. Thomas is there what the Pope is here. And the 
archbishops, and the bishops, and the abbots in that country, are all 
kings. And each of these great lords knows well the attendance of 
his service. One is master of his household, another is his cham- 
berlain, another serveth him with a dish, another with a cup, an- 
other is steward, another is marshal, another is prince of his arms; 
and thus is he full nobly and royally served. And his land extends 
in extreme breadth four months' journey, and in length out of 
measure, including all the isles under earth, that we suppose to be 
under us. 

Near the Isle of Pentexoire, which is the land of Prester John, is 
a great isle, long and broad, called Milsterak, which is in the lord- 
ship of Prester John. That isle is very rich. There was dwelling 
not long since a rich man, named Gatholonabes, who was full of 
tricks and subtle deceits. He had a fair and strong castle in a 
mountain, so strong and noble that no man could devise a fairer or 
a stronger. And he had caused the mountain to be all walled about 
with a strong and fair wall, within which walls he had the fairest 
garden that might be imagined; and therein were trees bearing all 
manner of fruits, all kinfls of herbs of virtue and of good smell, and 



OF SIE JOHN MAUSTDEV1LLE, KT. 133 

all other herbs also that bear fair flowers. And he had also in that 
garden many fair wells, and by them he had made fair halls and 
fair chambers, painted all with gold and azure, representing many 
divers things and many divers stories. 

There were also beasts and birds which sung full delectably, and 
moved by craft, that it seemed that they were alive. And he had 
also in his garden all kinds of birds and beasts, that men might have 
play or sport to behold them. And he had also in that place the 
fairest damsels that might be found under the age of fifteen years, 
and the fairest young striplings that men might get of that same 
age; and they were all clothed full richly in clothes of gold; and 
he said they were angels. And he had also caused to be made three 
fair and noble wells, all surrounded with stone of jasper and crystal, 
diapered with gold, and set with precious stones and great orient 
pearls. And he had made a conduit under the earth, so that the 
three wells, at his will, should run one with milk, another with 
wine, and another with honey. And that place he called Paradise, 
And when any good knight, who was hardy and noble, came to see 
this royalty, he would lead him into Paradise, and show him these 
wonderful things, for his sport, and the marvelous and delicious 
song of divers birds, and the fair damsels, and the fair wells of 
milk, wine, and honey, running plentifully. 

There he would let divers instruments of music sound in a high 
tower, so merrily that it was joy to hear, and no man should see the 
craft thereof; and those he said were angels of God, and that place 
was Paradise, that God had promised to His friends, saying, " I will 
give you a land flowing with milk and honey." And then he 
would make them drink of certain drink, whereof anon 1hey should 
be drunk; after which they seemed to have greater delight than 
they had before. And then would he say to them, that if they 
would die for him and for his love, after their death they should 
come to his Paradise; and they should be of the age of the damsels, 
and they should play with them. And after that he would put 
them in a fairer Paradise, where they should see the God of Nature 
visibly, in His majesty and bliss. And then would he show them 
his intent, and tell them, if they would go and slay such a lord or 
such a man who was his enemy, or disobedient to his will, they 
should not fear to do it, or to be slain themselves in doing it; for 
after their death he would put them into another Paradise that was 
a hundred-fold fairer than any of the others; and there should they 
dwell with the fairest damsels that might be, and play with them 
evermore. 



134 THE VOYAGES AND TRAVELS 

And thus went many divers lusty bachelors to slay great lords in 
divers countries, that were his enemies, in hopes to have that Para- 
dise. And thus he was often revenged of his enemies by his subtle 
deceits and false tricks. But when the worthy men of the country 
had perceived this subtle falsehood of this Gatholonabes, they assem- 
bled with force, and assailed his castle, and slew him, and destroyed 
all the fair places of that Paradise. The place of the wells and of 
the walls and of many other things are yet clearly to be seen, but 
the riches are clean gone. And it is not long ago since that place 
was destroyed. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

OP THE DEVIL'S HEAD IN THE PERILOUS VALLEY; AND OP THE 
CUSTOMS OP PEOPLE IN DIVERS ISLES THAT ARE ABOUT, IN 
THE LORDSHIP OF PRESTER JOHN. 

Near that isle of Mistorak, upon the left side, nigh to the river 
of Pison, is a marvelous thing. There is a vale between the mount- 
ains which extends nearly four miles; and some call it the En- 
chanted Vale, some call it the Vale of Devils, and some the Perilous 
Vale. In that vale men hear oftentimes great tempests and thun- 
ders, and great murmurs and noises, day and night; and great noise, 
as it were, of tabors, and nakeres, and trumpets, as though it were 
of a great feast. This vale is all full of devils, and has been always; 
and men say there that it is one of the entrances of hell. In that 
vale is great plenty of gold and silver; wherefore many misbelieving 
men, and many Christians also, oftentimes go in, to have of the 
treasure; but few return, especially of the misbelieving men, for 
they are anon strangled by the devils. 

And in the center of that vale, under a rock, is a head and the 
visage of a devil bodily, full horrible and dreadful to see, and it 
shows but the head to the shoulders. But there is no man in the 
world so bold, Christian or other, but he would be in dread to be- 
hold it, and he would feel almost dead with fear, so hideous is it to 
behold. For he looks at every man so sharply with dreadful eyes, 
that are ever moving and sparkling like fire, and changes and stirs 
so often in divers manners, with so horrible a countenance, that no 
man dare approach toward him. And from him issue smoke, and 
stink, and fire, and so much abomination that scarce any man may 
endure there. But the good Christians, that are stable in their faith, 
enter without peril; for they will first shrive them, and mark them 



OF SIR JOHN MAUNDEVILLE, KT. 135 

with the sign of the holy cross, so that the fiends have no power over 
them. But although they are without peril, yet they are not with- 
out dread when they see the devils visibly and bodily all about 
them, that make full many divers assaults and menaces, in air and 
on earth, and terrify them with strokes of thunder-blasts and of 
tempests. And the greatest fear is that God will take vengeance 
then of that which men have misdone against His will. 

And you shall understand that when my fellows and I were in 
this vale, we were in great thought whether we durst put our bodies 
in aventure, to go in or not, in the protection of God; and some of 
our fellows agreed to enter, and some not. So there were with us 
two worthy men, friars minors of Lombardy, who said that if any 
man would enter they would go in with us; and when they had said 
so, upon the gracious trust of God and of them, we heard Mass, and 
every man was shriven ana houseled; and then we entered, fourteen 
persons, but at our going out we were but nine. And so we never 
knew whether our fellows were lost, or had turned back for fear; 
but we never saw them after. They were two men of Greece, and 
three of Spain. And our other fellows, that would not go in with 
us, went by another road to be before us; and so they were. 

And thus we passed that Perilous Vale, and found therein gold 
and silver, and precious stones, and rich jewels, in great plenty, 
both here and there, as it seemed; but whether it was as it seemed I 
know not, for I touched none; because the devils are so subtle to 
make a thing seem otherwise than it is, to deceive mankind; and 
therefore I touched none; and also because that I would not be put 
out of my devotion, for I was more devout then than ever I was be- 
fore or after, and all for the dread of fiends that I saw in divers 
figures; and also for the great multitude of dead bodies that I saw 
there lying by the way, in all the vale, as though there had been a 
battle between two kings, and the mightiest of the country, and that 
the greater party had been discomfited and slain. And I believe 
that hardly should any country have so many people in it as lay 
slain in that vale, as it seemed to us, which was a hideous sight to 
see. And I marveled much that there were so many, and the bodies 
all whole, without rotting; but I believe that fiends made them seem 
to be so fresh, without rotting. And many of them were in habits 
of Christian men; but I believe they were such as went in for covet- 
ousness of the treasure that was there, and had overmuch feebleness 
in faith; so that their hearts might not endure in the belief for 
dread. And therefore we were the more devout a great deal; and 
yet we were cast down and beaten down many times to the hard 



136 THE VOYAGES AND TRAVELS 

earth by winds, and thunders, and tempests; but evermore God of 
His grace helped us. And so we passed that Perilous Vale without 
peril and without incumbrance, thanked be Almighty God! 

After this, beyond the vale, is a great isle, the inhabitants of which 
are great giants of twenty-eight or thirty feet long, with no clothing 
but skins of beasts, that they hang upon them; and they eat nothing 
but raw flesh, and drink milk of beasts They have no houses to lie 
in. And they eat more gladly man's flesh than any other flesh. Into 
that isle dare no man enter, and if they see a ship, and men therein, 
anon they enter. into the sea to take them. And men told us that in 
an isle beyond that were giants of greater stature, some of forty- five 
or fifty feet long, and even, as some men say, of fifty cubits long; 
but I saw none of those; for I had no lust to go to those parts, be- 
cause that no man comes either into thai isle or into the other but ' 
he will be devoured anon. And among those giants are sheep as 
great as oxen here, which bear great rough wool. Of the sheep I 
have seen many times. And men have said many times those 
giants take men, in the sea, out of their ships, and bring them to 
land, two in one hand and two in the other, eatirig them going, all 
raw and alive. 

In another isle, toward the north, in the Sea of Ocean, are very 
evil women, who have precious stones in their eyes; and if they be- 
hold any man with wrath, they slay him with the look. 

After that is another isle, where women make great sorrow when 
their children are born, and when they die, they make great feasts, 
and great joy and revel, and then they cast them into a great burn- 
ing fire. And those that love well their husbands, if their husbands 
die, they cast themselves also into the fire, with their children, and 
burn them. In that isle tney make their king always by election ; 
and they choose him not for nobleness or riches, but such a one as 
is of good manners and condition, and therewithal just; and also 
that he be of great age, and that he have no children. 

In that isle men are very just, and they do just judgments in 
every cause, both of rich and poor, small and great, according to 
their trespasses. And the king may not judge a man to death 
without assent of his barons and other wise men of council, and 
unless all the court agree thereto. And if the king himself do any 
homicide or crime, as to slay a man, or any such case, he shall die 
for it; but he shall not be slain as another man; but they forbid, on 
pain of death, that any man be so bold as to make him company or 
.to speak with him, or give or sell him meat or drink; and so shall 



OF SIR JOHN MAUKDEVILLE, KT. 137 

he die disgracefully. They spare no man that has trespassed, either 
for love, or favor, or riches, or nobility; but that he shall have ac- 
cording to what he has done. 

Beyond that isle is another, where is a great multitude of people, 
who will not eat flesh of hares, hens, or geese; and yet they breed 
them in abundance, to see and behold them only; but they eat flesh 
of all other beasts, and drink milk. In that country they take their 
daughters and their sisters to wife, and their other kinswomen. 
And if there be ten or twelve men, or more, dwelling in a house, 
the wife of each of them shall be common to them all that dwell in 
that house; so that every man may lie with whom he will of them 
on one night, and with another, another night. And if she have 
any child she may give it to what man she list that has kept com- 
pany with her; so that no man knows there whether the child be 
his or another's. And if any man say to them that they nourish 
other men's children, they answer that so do other men theirs. 

In that country, and in all India, are great plenty of cockodrills, 
a sort of long serpent, as I have said before; and in the night they 
dwell in the water, and in the day upon the land, in rocks and 
cavers; and they eal no meat in winter, but lie as in a dream, as do 
serpents. These serpents slay men, and they eat them weeping; 
and when they eat they move the upper jaw, and not the lower jaw; 
and they have no tongue. In that country, and in many others 
beyond, and also in many on this side, men sow the seed of cotton; 
and they sow it every year, and then it grows to small trees, which 
bear cotton. And so do men every year, so that there is plenty of 
cotton at all times. 

In this isle also, and in many others, there is a manner of wood, 
hard and strong; and whoever covers the coals of that wood under 
the ashes thereof, the coals will remain alive a year or more. And 
among other trees there are nut-trees, that bear nuts as great as a 
man's head. There are also animals called orafles, which are 
called, in Arabia, gerfauntz. They are spotted, and a little higher 
than a horse, with a neck twenty cubits long; and the croup and 
tail are like those of a hart; and one of them may look over a high 
house. And there are also in that country many chameleons; and 
there are very great serpents, some one hundred and twenty feet 
long, of divers colors, as rayed, red, green and yellow, blue and 
black, and all speckled. And there are others that have crests upon 
their heads; and they go upon their feet upright. And there are 
also wild swine of many colors, as great as oxen in our country, all 
spotted like young fawns. And there are also hedgehogs, as great 



138 THE VOYAGES AND TRAVELS 

as wild swine, Which we call porcupines. And there are many 
other extraordinary animals. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

OP THE GOODNESS OF THE PEOPLE OP THE ISLE OF BRAGMAN — 
OF KING ALEXANDER, AND WHY THE EMPEROR OF INDIA IS 
CALLED PRESTER JOHN. 

And beyond that isle is another isle, great and rich, where are 
good and true people, and of good living after their belief, and of 
good faith, and although they are not christened, yet by natural 
law they are full of all virtue, and eschew all vices; for they are 
not proud, nor covetous, nor envious, nor wrathful, nor gluttonous, 
nor lecherous; nor do they to any man otherwise than they would 
that other men did to them; and in Ihis point they fulfill the ten 
commandments *of God. And they care not for possessions or 
riches; and they lie not, nor do they swear, but say simply yea 
and nay; for they say he that sweareth will deceive his neighbor; 
and therefore all that they do they do it without oath. And that 
isle is called the Isle of Bragman, and some men call it the Land of 
Faith; and through it runs a great river called Thebe. 

And in general all the men of those isles, and of all the borders 
thereabout, are truer than in any other country thereabout, and 
more just than others in all things. In that isle is no thief, no 
murderer, no common woman, no poor beggar, and no man was 
ever slain in that country. And they be as chaste, and lead as good 
a life, as though they were monks; and they fast all days. And 
because they are so true, and so just, and so full of all good condi- 
tions, they are never grieved with tempests, nor with thunder and 
lightning, nor with hail, nor with pestilence, nor with war, nor 
with famine, nor with any other tribulation, as we are manv times 
amongst us for our sins; wherefore it appears evident that God 
lovelh them for their good deeds. They believe well in God that 
made all things, and worship Him; and they prize no earthly 
riches; and they live full orderly, and so soberly in meat and drink, 
that they live right long. And the most part of them die without 
sickness, when nature faileth them for old age. 

And il befell, in King Alexander's time, that he purposed to 
conquer that isle; but when they of the country heard it, they sent 
messengers to him with letters, that said thus: " What may we be 



OP SIK JOHK MAUNDEVILLE, KT. 139 

now to that man to whom all the world is insufficient? Thou shalt 
find nothing in us to cause thee to war against us; for we have no 
riches, nor do we desire any; and all the goods of our country are 
in common. Our meat, with which we sustain our bodies, is our 
riches; and instead of treasure of gold and silver, we make our 
treasure of acorns and pease, and to love one another. And to ap- 
parel our bodies we use a simple cloth to wrap our carcass. Our 
wives are not arrayed to make any man pleased. When men labor 
to array the body, to make it seem fairer than God made it, they do 
great sin; for man should not devise nor ask greater beauty than 
God hath ordained him to have at his birth. The earth ministereth 
to us two things: our livelihood, that cometh of the earth that we 
live by, and our sepulcher after our death. We have been in per- 
petual peace till now that thou art come to disinherit us; and also 
we have a king, not to do justice to every man, for he shall find no 
forfeit among us; but to keep nobleness, and to show that we are 
obedient, we have a king. For justice has among us no place; for 
we do to no man otherwise than we desire that men do to us, so 
that righteousness or vengeance has naught to do among us; so 
that thou mayest take nothing from us but our good peace, that 
always hath endured among us." And when King Alexander had 
read these letters he thought that he should do great sin to trouble 
them. 

There is another isle called Oxidrate, and another called Gym- 
nosophe, where there are also good people, and full of good faith; 
and they hold, for the most part, the same good conditions and cus- 
toms, and good manners, as men of the country above mentioned; 
but they all go naked. Into that isle entered King Alexander, to 
see the customs; and when he saw their great faith, and the truth 
that was amongst them, he said that he would not grieve them, and 
bade them ask of him what they would have of him, riches or any- 
thing else, and they should have it with good- will. And they an- 
swered that he was rich enough that had meat and drink to sustain 
the body with; for the riches of this world, that is transitory, are of 
no worth; but if it were in his power to make them immortal, 
thereof would they pray him, and thank him. 

And Alexander answered them that it was not in his power to do 
it, because he was mortal, as they were. And then they asked him 
why he was so proud, and so 3erce, and so busy, to put all the 
world under his subjection, ' ' Right as thou wert a God, and hast no 
term of this life, neither day nor hour; and covetest to have all the 
world at thy command, that shall leave thee without fail, or thou 



140 THE VOYAGES AND TRAVELS 

leave it. And right as it hath been to other men before thee, right 
so it shall be to others after thee, and from hence shalt thou cany 
nothing; but as thou wert born naked, right so all naked shall thy 
body be turned into earth, that thou wert made of. Wherefore 
thou shouldest think, and impress it on thy mind, that nothing is 
immortal but only God, that made all things." By which answer 
Alexander was greatly astonished and abashed, and all confused 
departed from them. 

Many other isles there are in the land of Prester John, and many 
great marvels, that were too long to tell, both of his riches and of 
his nobleness, and of the great plenty also of precious stones that 
he has. I think that you know well now, and have heard say, why 
this emperor is called Prester John. There was some time an em- 
peror there, who was a worthy and a full noble prince, that had 
Christian knights in his company, as he has that now is. So it be- 
fell that he had great desire to see the service in the church among 
Christians; and then Christendom extended beyond the sea, includ- 
ing all Turkey, Syria, Tartary, Jerusalem, Palestine, Arabia, Alep- 
po, and all the land of Egypt. So it befell that this emperor came, 
with a Christian knight with him, into a church in Egypt; and it 
was the Saturday in Whitsuntide. And the bishop was conferring 
orders; and he beheld and listened to the service full attentively; 
and he asked the Christian knight what men of degree they should 
be that the prelate had before him; and the knight answered and 
said that they were priests. And then the emperor said that he 
would no longer be called king nor emperor, but priest; and that 
he would have the name of the first priest that went out of the 
Church; and his name was John. And so, evermore since, he is 
cailed Prester John. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

OP THE HILLS OF GOLD THAT ANTS KEEP; AND OP THE POTJR 
STREAMS THAT COME FROM TERRESTRIAL PARADISE. 

Toward the east of Prester John's land is a good and great isle 
called Taprobane, and it is very fruitful; and the king thereof is 
rich, and is under the obeisance of Prester John. And there they 
always make their king by election. In that isle are two summers 
and two winters; and men harvest the corn twice a year; and in all 
seasons of the year the gardens are in flower. There dwell good 
people, and reasonable; and many Christian men among them, who 



OF SIR JOHN MAUKBETIILE, KT. 141 

are so rich that they know not what to do with their goods. Of old 
time, when men passed from the land of Prester John unto that 
isle, men made ordinance to pass by ship in twenty three days or 
more; but now men pass by ship in seven days. And men may see 
the bottom of the sea in many places; for it is not very deep. 

Beside that isle, toward the east, are two other isles, one called 
Orille, the other Argyte, of which all the land is mines of gold and 
silver. And those isles are just where the Red Sea separates from the 
Ocean Sea. And in those isles men see no stars so clearly as in other 
places; for there appears only one clear star called Canopus. And 
there the moon is not seen in all the lunation, except in the second 
quarter. In the isle, also, of this Taprobane are great hills of gold, 
that ants keep full diligently. 

And beyond the land, and isles, and deserts of Prester John's 
lordship, in going straight toward the east, men find nothing but 
mountains and great rocks; and there is the dark region, where no 
man may see, neither by day nor night, as they of the country say. 
And that desert, and that place of darkness, lasts from this coast 
unto Terrestrial Paradise, where Adam, our first father, and Eve 
were put, who dwelt there but a little while; and that is toward the 
east, at the beginning of the earth. But this is not that east that we 
call our east, on this half, where the sun rises to us; for when the 
sun is east in those parts loward Terrestrial Paradise, it is then 
midnight in our parts on this half, on account of the roundness of 
the earth, of which I have told you before; for our Lord God made 
the earth all round, in the middle of the firmament. And there 
have mountains and hills been, and valleys, which arose only from 
Noah's flood, that wasted the soft and tender ground, and fell down 
into valleys; and the hard earth and the rock remain mountains, 
when the soft and tender earth was worn away by the water, and 
fell, and became valleys. 

Of Paradise I can not speak properly, for I was not there. It is 
far beyond; and I repent not going there, but I was not worthy. 
But as I have heard say of wise men beyond, I shall tell you with 
good will. Terrestrial Paradise, as wise men say, is the highest 
place of the earth; and it is so high that it nearly touches the circle 
of the moon there, as the moon makes her turn. For it is so high 
that the flood of Noah might not come to it, that would have covered 
all the earth of the world all about, and above and beneath, except 
Paradise. And this Paradise is inclosed all about with a wall, and 
men know not whereof it is; for the wall is covered all over with 
moss, as it seems; and it seems not that the wall is natural stone. 



142 THE VOYAGES AtfD TRAVELS 

And that wall stretches from the south to the north; and it has but 
one entry, which is closed with burning fire, so that no man that is 
mortal dare enter. 

And in the highest place of Paradise, exactly in the middle, is a 
well that casts out the four streams, which run by divers lands, of 
which the first is called Pison, or Ganges, that runs throughout 
India, or Emlak, in which river are many precious stones, and 
much lignum aloes, and much sand of gold. And the other river is 
called Nile, or Gyson, which goes through Ethiopia, and after 
through Egypt. And the other is called Tigris, which runs by 
Assyria, and by Armenia the Great. And the other is called Eu- 
phrates, which runs through Media, Armenia, and Persia. And men 
there beyond say that all the sweet waters of the vorld, above and 
beneath, take their beginning from the well of Paradise; and out of 
that well all waters come and go. The first river is called Pison, 
that is, in our language, Assembly; for many other rivers meet 
there, and go into that river. And some call it Ganges, from an 
Indian king, called Gangeres, because it ran through his land. And 
its water is in some places clear, and in some places troubled; in 
some places hot, and in some places cold. The second river is 
called Nile, or Gyson, for it is always troubled; and Gyson, in the 
language of Ethiopia, is to say Trouble, and in the language of 
Egypt also. The third river, called Tigris, is as much as to say, 
Fast Running; for it runs faster than any of the others. The 
fourth river is called Euphrates, that is to say, Well Bearing; for 
there grow upon that river corn; fruit, and other goods, in great 
plenty. 

And you shall understand that no man that is mortal may ap- 
proach to that Paradise; for by land no man may go for wild beasts, 
that are in the deserts, and for the high mountains, and great huge 
rocks, that no man may pass by for the dark places that are there; 
and by the rivers may no man go, for the water runs so roughly and 
so sharply, because it comes down so outrageously from the high 
places above, that it runs in so great waves that no ship may row or 
sail against it; and the water roars so, and makes so huge a noise, 
and so great a tempest, that no man may hear another in the ship, 
though he cried with all the might he could. Many great lords 
have essayed with great will, many times, to pass by those rivers 
toward Paradise, with full great companies; but they might not 
speed in their voyage; and many died for weariness of rowing 
against the strong waves; and many of them became blind, and 
many deaf, for the noise of the water; and some perished and were 



OF SIR JOHN MAUNDEVILLE, KT. 143 

lost in the waves; so that no mortal man may approach to that 
place without special grace of God; so that of that place I can tell 
you no more. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

OP THE CUSTOMS OF KINGS AND OTHERS THAT DWELL IN THE 
ISLES BORDERING ON PRESTER JOHN'S LAND. 

From those isles that I have spoken of before, in the land of 
Prester John, that are under earth as to us, and of other isles that 
are further beyond, whoever will pursue them may come again 
right to the parts that he came from, and so environ all the earth; 
but what for the isles, what for the sea, and what for strong rowing, 
few people essay to pass that passage. And therefore men return 
from the isles beforesaid by other isles, coasting from the land of 
Prester John. And then come men, in returning, to an isle called 
Casson, which is full sixty days in length, and more than fifty in 
breadth. This is the best isle, and the best kingdom, that is in all 
those parts, except Cathay; and if the merchants used that country 
as much as they do Cathay it would be better than Cathay in a 
short time. 

This country is well inhabited, and so full of cities and good 
towns, and inhabited with people, that when a man goes out of one 
city he sees another city before him. In that isle is great plenty of 
all goods to live with, and of all manner of spices; and there are 
great forests of chestnuts. The king of that isle is very rich and 
mighty; and yet he holds his land of the Great Chan, and is subject 
to him; for it is one of the twelve provinces which the Great Chan 
has under him, besides his own land, and other less isles, of which 
he has many. 

From that kingdom come men, in returning, to another isle, 
called Rybothe, which also is under the Great Chan. It is a full 
good country, and rich in all goods, and wine and fruit., and all 
other riches. And the people of that country have no houses: but 
they dwell and lie all under tents made of black fern. And the 
principal city, and the most royal, is all walled with black and 
white stone; and all the streets, also, are paved with the same 
stones. In that city is no man so hardy as to shed blood of any 
man, nor of any beast, for the reverence of an idol that is wor- 
shiped there. And in that isle dwells the pope of their law, whom 
they call lobassy. This lobassy gives all the benefices, and other 
dignities, and all other things that belong to the idol. 



144 THE VOYAGES Als T D TRAVELS 

In that isle they have a custom, in all the country, that when any 
man's father is dead, and the son wishes to do great honor to his 
father, he sends to all his friends, and to all his kin, and for re- 
ligious men and priests, and for minstrels also, in great plenty; and 
then they bear the dead body unto a great hill, with great joy and 
solemnity; and when they have brought it thither, the chief prelate 
smites off the head, and lays it upon a great platter of gold and 
silver, if he be a rich man; and then he gives the head to the son; 
and then the son and his other kin sing and say many prayers; and 
then the priests, and the religious men, smite all the body of the 
dead man in pieces; and then they say certain prayers. And the 
birds of prey of all the country about know the custom for a long 
time before, and come flying above in the air, as eagles, kites, 
ravens, and other birds that eat flesh. And then the priests cast the 
bits of flesh, and each fowl takes what he may, and goes a little 
thence and eats it; and they do so whilst any piece of the dead body 
remains. And after that the preists sing with high voice, in their 
language, " Behold how worthy a man, and how good a man this 
was, that the ang'els of God came to seek him, and to bring him 
into Paradise. " And then it seems to the son that he is highly 
worshiped when many birds, and fowls, and ravens come and eat 
his father; and he that has most number of fowls is most wor- 
shiped. 

Then the son brings home with him all his kin, and his friends, 
and all the others to his house, and makes a great feast; and then 
all his friends make their boast how the fowls came thither, here 
five, here six, here ten, and there twenty, and so forth, and they re- 
joice greatly to speak thereof. And when they are at meat the son 
brings forth the head of his father, and thereof he serves of the flesh 
to his most special friends, as a dainty. And of the skull he makes 
a cup, and drinks out of it with his other friends in great devotion, 
in remembrance of the holy man that the angels of God had eaten. 
And that cup the son shall keep to drink out of all his life-time, in 
remembrance of his father. 

From that land, in returning by ten days through the land of the 
Great Chan, is another good isle, and a great kingdom, where the king 
is full rich and mighty. And amongst the rich men of his country 
is a passing rich man, that is neither prince nor duke nor earl; but 
he has more that hold of him lands and other lordships; for he has 
every year, of annual rent, more than three hundred thousand horses 
charged with corn of divers grains and rice; and so he leads a full 
noble and delicate life, after the custom of the country; for he has 



OF SIK JOHN MAUNDEVILLE, KT. 145 

every day fifty fair damsels, all maidens, that serve him evermore at 
his meal. And when he is at the table, they bring him his meat at 
every time, five and five together; and in bringing their service they 
sing a song. 

And after that they cut his meat, and put it in his mouth; for he 
touches nothing, nor handles naught, but holds evermore his hands 
before him upon the table; for he has such long nails that he may ! 
take nothing, nor handle anything. For the nobleness of that 
country is to have long nails, and to make them grow always to be 
as long as men may; and there are many in that country that have 
their nails so long that they environ all the hand; and that is a great 
nobleness. And the nobleness of the women is to have small feet; 
and therefore, as soon as they are born, they bind their feet so tight 
that they may not grow half as nature would. And always these 
damsels, that I spoke of before, sing all the time that this rich man 
eateth; and when he eateth no more of his first course, then other 
five and five of fair damsels bring him his second course, always 
singing, as they did before; and so they do continually every day, 
to the end of his meat. 

And in this manner he leads his life; and so they did before him 
that were his ancestors; and so shall they that come after him, with- 
out doing of any deeds of arms, but live evermore thus in ease, as a 
swine that is fed in a sty to be made* fat. He has a full fair and rich 
palace, the walls of which are two miles in circuit; and he has 
within many fair gardens, and many fair halls and chambers; and 
the pavements of his halls and chambers are of gold and silver. And 
in the middle of one of his gardens is a little mountain, where there 
is a little meadow; and in that meadow is a little house, with towers 
and pinnacles, all of gold; and in that little house will he sit often 
to take the air and sport himself. 

And you shall understand that of all these countries and isles, and J 
of all the divers people that I have spoken of before, and of divers 
laws, and of divers beliefs that they have, there is none of them all 
but they have some reason and understanding in them, and that 
they have certain articles of our faith, and some good points of 
our belief; and they believe in God that created all things and made 
the world; but yet they can not speak perfectly (for there is no man 
to teach them), but only what they can devise by their natural un- 
derstanding; for they have no knowledge of the Son nor of the Holy 
Ghost: but they can all speak of the Bible, namely of Genesis, of 
the Prophet's laws, and of the books of Moses. 

And they say well that the creatures that they worship are no 



146 THE VOYAGES AND TRAVELS 

gods; but they worship them for the virtue that is in them. And 
of simulacres, and of idols, they say that there are no people but 
that they have simulacres: and they say that we Christian men have 
images, as of our Lady, and of other saints, that we worship: not 
the images of wood or of stone, but the saints in whose name they 
are made; for right as the books of the Scripture teach the clerks how 
and in what manner they shall believe, right so the images and the 
paintings teach the ignorant people to worship the saints, and to 
have them in their minds, in whose name the images are made. 
They say, also, that the angels of Go i speak to them in those idols, 
and that they do many great miracles. And they say truth, that 
there is an angel within them; for there are two manner of angels, 
a good and an evil; as the Greeks say Cacho and Calo. This Cacho 
is the wicked angel, and Calo is the good angel; but the other is not 
the good angel, but the wicked angel, which is within the idols to 
deceive them and maintain them in their error. 

There are many other divers countries, and many other marvels 
beyond, that I have not seen; wherefore I can not speak of them 
properly. And, also, in the countries where I have been are many 
diversities of many wonderful things, more than I make mention of; 
for it were too long a thing to devise you the manner of them all. 
And therefore now that I have devised you of certain countries, 
which I have spoken of before, 1 beseech your worthy and excellent 
nobleness that it suffice to you at this time; for if I told you all that 
is beyond the sea, another man, perhaps, who would labor to gD 
into those parts to seek those countries, might be blamed by my 
words in rehearsing many strange things; for he might not say any 
thing new, in the which the * hearers might have either solace or 
pleasure. 

And you shall understand that, at my coming home, I came to 
Rome, and showed my life to our Holy Father the Pope, and was 
absolved of all that lay in my conscience of many divers grievous 
points, as men must need that are in company, dwelling amongst so 
many divers people, of divers sects and beliefs, as I have been. 
And, amongst all I showed him this treatise, that I had made after 
information of men that knew of things that I had not seen myself; 
and also of marvels and customs that I had seen myself, as far as 
God would give me grace; and besought his holy fatherhood that 
my booK might be examined and corrected by advice of his wise 
and discreet council. 

And our Holy Father, of his special grace, gave my book to be ex- 
amined and proved by the advice of his said council, by the which 



OF SIR JOHK MAUttDEVILLE, KT. 147 

flay book was proved for true, insomuch that they showed me a 
book, which my book was examined by, that comprehended full 
much more, by an hundredth part, by the which the Mappa Mundi 
was made. And so my book (albeit that many men list not to give 
credence to anything but to what they see with their eye, be the 
author or the person ever so true) is affirmed and proved by our Holy 
Father in manner and form as I have said. 

And I, John Maundeville, knight, above said (although I be un 
worthy), that went from our countries, and passed the sea, in the 
year of Grace 1322, have passed many lands, and many isles and 
countries, and searched many full strange places, and have been in 
many a full good and honorable company, and at many a fair deed 
of arms (albeit that I did none myself, from my insufficiency), now 
I am come home (in spite of myself) to rest; for rheumatic gouts, 
that distress me, fix the end of my labor, against my will (God 
knoweth). And thus, taking comfort in my wretched rest, record- 
ing the time passed, I have fulfilled these things, and written them 
in this book, as it would come into my mind, the year of Grace 1356, 
in the thirty-fourth year that I departed from our country. Where- 
fore I pray to all the readers and hearers of this book, if it please 
them, that they would pray to God for me, and I shall pray for 
them. 



THE END. 



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AUTHOR'S LIST. 



Works by tbe author of ■' Addie's 
Husband." 

388 Addie's Husband ; or, Through 

Clouds to Sunshine 10 

504 My Poor Wife 10 

Works by the author of "A Fatal 
Dower." 

246 AFatal Dower 10 

372 Phyllis' Probation 10 

461 His Wedded Wife 20 

Works by the author of " A Great 
Mistake." 

244 A Great Mistake 20 

588 Cherry 10 

Works by the author of "A 
Woman's Love-Story." 

322 A Woman's Love-Story 10 

677 Griselda 2o 

Mrs. Alexander's Works. 

5 The Admiral's Ward 20 

17 The Wooing O't. . „ 20 

62 The Executor... 20 

189 Valerie's Fate 10 

229 Maid, Wife, or Widow? 10 

236 Which Shall it Be? 20 

339 Mrs. Vereker's Courier Maid. . . 10 

490 ASecond Life 20 

564 At Bay ..... 10 

Alison's Works. 

194 " So Near, and Yet So Far !". . . 10 

278 For Life and Love 10 

481 The House That Jack Built.... 10 
F. Anstey's Works. 

59 Vice Versa 20 

225 The Giant's Robe 20 

503 The Tinted Venus. A Farcical 

Romance 10 I 



R. M. Ballantyne's Works. 

89 The Red Eric 10 

95 The Fire Brigade 10 

96 Erlingthe Bold 10 

Anne Beale's Works. 

188 Idonea 20 

199 The Fisher Village 10 

Basil's Works. 
344 " The Wearing of the Green " . . 20 

547 A Coquette's Conquest 20 

585 A Drawn Game 20 

M. Betham-Edwai'ds's Works. 
273 Love and Mirage; or, The Wait- 
ing on an Island 10 

579 The Flower of Doom, and Other 

Stories. 10 

594 Doctor Jacob 20 

Walter Besant's Works. 

97 All in a Garden Fair 20 

137 Uncle Jack 10 

140 A Glorious Fortune 10 

146 Love Finds the Way, and Other 

Stories. By Besant and Rice 10 

230 Dorothy Forster 20 

324 In Luck at Last 10 

651 " Self or Bearer " .. 10 

William Black's Works. 

1 Yolande 20 

18 Shandon Bells 20 

21 Sunrise : A Story of These 

Times 20 

23 A Princess of Thule 20 

39 In Silk Attire. 20 

44 Macleod of Dare 20 

49 That Beautiful Wretch 20 

50 The Strange Adventures of a 

Phaeton 20 

70 White Wings: A Yachting Ro-. 
mance io 



TUB SMASlfifl LIBRARY.— Pocket Edition. 



William Black's Works— Con- 
tinued. 

78 Madcap Violet 20 

81 A Daughter of Heth 20 

124 Three Feathers 20 

125 The Monarch of Mincing Lane. 20 

126 Kilmeny 20 

138 Green Pastures and Piccadilly. 20 
265 Judith Shakespeare : Her Love 

Affairs and Other Adventures 20 
472 The Wise Women of Inverness. 10 
«27- White Heather 20 

R. D. Blackmore's Works. 

67 Lorna Doone. 1st half 20 

67 Lorna Doone. 2d half 20 

427 The Remarkable History of Sir 

Thomas Upmore, Bart., M. P. 20 

615 Mary Anerley 20 

625 Erema; or, My Father's Sin... 20 

629 Cripps, the Carrier 20 

630 Cradock Nowell. First half... 20 

630 Cradock Nowell. Second half. 20 

631 Christowell. A Dartmoor Tale 20 

632 Clara Vaughan 20 

633 The Maid of Sker. First half. . 20 
633 The Maid of Sker. Second half 20 

636 Alice Lorraine. First half 20 

636 Alice Lorraine. Second half . . 20 

Miss M. E. Braddon's Works. 

35 Lady Audley's Secret 20 

56 Phantom Fortune 20 

74 Aurora Floyd 20 

110 Under the Red Flag 10 

153 The Golden Calf 20 

204 Vixen 20 

211 The Octoroon 10 

234 Barbara ; or, Splendid Misery. . 20 

263 An Ishmaelite 20 

315 The Mistletoe Bough. Edited 

by Miss Braddon 20 

434 Wyllard's Weird 20 

478 Diavola; or, Nobody's Daugh- 



20 



Daugh- 



ter. Part I 
478 Diavola; or, Nobody 

ter. Part II 20 

480 Married in Haste. Edited by 

Miss M. E. Braddon 20 

487 Put to the Test. Edited by Miss 

M. E. Braddon 20 

488 Joshua Haggard's Daughter.... 20 

489 Rupert Godwin 20 

495 Mount Royal 20 

496 Only a Woman. Edited by Miss 

M. E. Braddon 20 

497 The Lady's Mile 20 

498 Onlya Clod 20 

499 The Cloven Foot 20 

511 A Strange World 20 

515 Sir Jasper's Tenant 20 

524 Strangers and Pilgrims 20 

529 The Doctor's Wife 20 

542 Fenton's Quest 20 

544 Cut by the County; or, Grace 

Darnel , 10 

548 The Fatal Marriage, and The 

Shadow in the Corner 10 

(2) 



549 Dudley Carleon ; or, The Broth- 
er's Secret, and George Caul- 
field's Journey 10 

552 Hostages to Fortune 20 

553 Birds of Prey 20 

554 Charlotte's Inheritance. (Se- 

quel to " Birds of Prey ") 20 

557 To the Bitter End 20 

559 Taken at the Flood 20 

560 Asphodel.. 20 

561 Just as I am ; or, A Living Lie 20 

567 Dead Men's Shoes 20 

570 John Marchmonfs Legacy. ... 20 
618 The Mistletoe Bough. Christ- 
mas, 1885. Edited by Miss M. 

E. Braddon 20 

Works by Charlotte M. Braeme, 
Author of " Dora Thome." 

19 Her Mother's Sin 10 

51 Dora Thorne 20 

54 A Broken Wedding-Ring 20 

68 A Queen Amongst Women 10 

69 Madolin's Lover 20 

73 Redeemed by Love 20 

76 Wife in Name Only 20 

79 Wedded and Parted 10 

92 Lord Lynne's Choice 10 

148 Thorns and Orange-Blossoms. . 10 

190 Romance of a Black Veil 10. 

220 Which Loved Him Best? 10 

237 Repented at Leisure 20 

249 " Prince Charlie's Daughter " . . 10 

250 Sunshine and Roses; or, Di- 

ana's Discipline 10 

254 The Wife's Secret, and Fail- 
but False 10 

283 The Sin of a Lifetime 10 

287 At War With Herself 10 

288 From Gloom to Sunlight 10 

291 Love's Warfare 10 

292 A Golden Heart 10 

293 The Shadow of a Sin 10 

294 Hilda 10 

295 A Woman's War 10 

296 A Rose in Thorns 10 

297 Hilary's Folly 10 

299 The Fatal Lilies, and A Bride 
from the Sea 10 

300 A Gilded Sin, and A Bridge of 
Love ;.... 10 

303 Ingledew House, and More Bit- 
ter than Death 10 

304 In Cupid's Net 10 

305 A Dead Heart, and Lady Gwen- 
doline's Dream 10 

306 A Golden Dawn, and Love for 
a Day 10 

307 Two Kisses, and Like no Other 
Love 10 

308 Beyond Pardon 20 

411 A Bitter Atonement... 20 

433 My Sister Kate 10 

459 A Woman's Temptation 20 

460 Under a Shadow 20 

465 The Earl's Atonement 20 

466 Between Two Loves 20 

467 A Struggle for a Ring 20 



TEE SEASIDE LIBRARY.— Pocket Edition. 



Works by Charlotte M. Braeme— 
Continued. 

469 Lady Darner's Secret 20 

470 Evelyn's Folly 20 

471 Thrown on the World 20 

476 Between Two Sins 10 

516 Put Asunder ; or. Lady Castle- 

maine's Divorce 20 

576 Her Martyrdom 20 

626 A Fair Mystery 20 

741 The Heiress of Hilldrop; or, 

The Romance of a Young 



Girl 

745 For Another's Sin ; or, A Strug- 
gle for Love 

Charlotte Bronte's Works. 

15 Jane Eyre 

57 Shirley 



20 



Rhoda Brough ton's Works. 

86 Belinda ; . 20 

101 Second Thoughts 20 

227 Nancy 20 

645 Mrs. Smith of Longmains 10 

Robert Buchanan's Works. 
145 M Storm-Beaten :" God and The 



• Storm-Beaten : 

Man 

154 Annan Water 

181 The New Abelard 

398 Matt : A Tale of a Caravan . . . 

646 The Master of the Mine 

647 Goblin Gold 



20 
20 
10 
10 
10 
10 

Captain Fred Burnaby's Works. 

375 A Ride to Khiva 20 

384 On Horseback Through Asia 
Minor 20 

E. Fairfax Byrrne's Works. 

521 Entangled 20 

538 A Fair Country Maid 20 

Hall Caine's Works. 

445 The Shadow of a Crime 20 

520 She's All the World to Me 10 

Rosa Xouchette Carey's Works. 

215 Not Like Other Girls 20 

396 Robert Ord's Atonement 20 

551 Barbara Heathcote's Trial 20 

608 For Lilias 20 

Wilkie Collins's Works. 

52 The New Magdalen 10 

102 The Moonstone 20 

167 Heart and Science 20 

168 No Thoroughfare. By Dickens 

and Collins , 10 

175 Love's Random Shot 10 

233 " I Say No ;" or, The Love-Let- 
ter Answered 20 

508 The Girl at the Gate 10 

591 The Queen of Hearts 20 

613 The Ghost's Touch, and Percy 

and the Prophet 10 

623 My Lady's Money 10 



701 The Woman in White. 1st half 20 



(3) 



701 The Woman in White. 2d half 20 

702 Man and Wife. 1st half 20 

702 Man and Wife. 2d half 20 

Hugh Conway's Works. 

240 Called Back 10 

251 The Daughter of the Stars, and 

Other Tales 10 

301 Dark Days 10 

302 The Blatchford Bequest 10 

502 Carriston's Gift 10 

525 Paul Vargas, and Other Stories 10 

543 A Family Affair 20 

601 Slings and Arrows, and Other 

Stories 10 

711 A Cardinal Sin 20 

J. Fenimore Cooper's Works. 

60 The Last of the Mohicans 20 

63 The Spy 20 

309 The Pathfinder 20 

310 The Prairie 20 

318 The Pioneers ; or, The Sources 

of the Susquehanna 20 

349 The Two Admirals 20 

359 The Water-Witch 20 

361 The Red Rover 20 

373 Wing and Wing 20 

378 Homeward Bound; or, The 

Chase 20 

379 Home as Found. (Sequel to 

" Homeward Bound") 20 

380 Wyandotte ; or, The Hutted 

Knoll 20 

385 The Headsman ; or, The Ab- 

baye des Vignerons 20 

394 The Bravo 20 

397 Lionel Lincoln; or, The Leag- 
uer of Boston 20 

400 The Wept of Wish-Ton-Wish. . . 20 

413 Afloat and Ashore 20 

414 Miles Wallingford. (Sequel to 

" Afloat and Ashore ") 20 

415 The Ways of the Hour 20 

416 Jack Tier ; or, The Florida Reef 20 

419 The Chainbearer ; or,The Little- 

page Manuscripts : . 20 

420 Satanstoe; or, The Littlepage 

Manuscripts 20 

421 The Redskins; or, Indian and 

Injin. Being the conclusion 
of the Littlepage Manuscripts 20 

422 Precaution 20 

423 The Sea Lions; or, The Lost 

Sealers 20 

424 Mercedes of Castile; or, The 

Voyage to Cathay 20 

425 The Oak-Openings ; or, The Bee- 

Hunter 20 

431 TheMonikins 20. 

Georgiana M. Craik's Works. 

450 Godfrey Helstone 20 

606 Mrs. Hollyer 2ft 

B% ML. Croker's Works. 

207 Pretty Miss Neville. , 20 

260 Proper Pride 10 

413 Some One Else ,.., 20 



THE SEASIDE LIBRARY.— Pocket Edition. 



May Crommeliii's Works. 

452 In the West Countrie 

619 Joy; or, The Light of Cold- 
Home Ford.. 

Alphonse Daudet's Works. 

534 Jack..... -. 

574 The Nabob : A Story of Parisian 
Life and Manners 

Charles Dickens's Works. 

10 The Old Curiosity Shop. 

22 David Copperfield. Vol. I 

22 David Copperfield. Vol. IT.... 

24 Pickwick Papers. Vol. I 

24 Pickwick Papers. Vol. II 

37 Nicholas Nickleby. First half. 
37 Nicholas Nickleby. Second half 

41 Oliver Twist 

77 A Tale of Two Cities 

84 Hard Times 

91 Barnaby Pudge. 1st half 

91 Barnaby Pudge. 2d half 

94 Little Dorrit. First half 

94 Little Dorrit. Second half 

106 Bleak House. First half 

106 Bleak House. Second half. ... 

107 Dombey and Son. 1st half — 

107 Dombey and Son. 2d half 

108 The Cricket on the Hearth, and 

Doctor Marigold 

131 Our Mutual Friend. (1st half). 

131 Our Mutual Friend. (2d half).. 

132 Master Humphrey's Clock 

152 The Uncommercial Traveler. .. 

168 No Thoroughfare. By Dickens 

and Collins 

169 The Haunted Man 

437 Life and Adventures of Martin 

Chuzzlewit. First half 

437 Life and Adventures of Martin 
Chuzzlewit. Second half 

439 Great Expectations 

440 Mrs. Lirriper's Lodgings 

447 American Notes 

448 Pictures From Italy, and The 

Mudfog Papers, &c 

454 The Mystery of Edwin Drood. . 

456 Sketches by Boz. Illustrative 
of Every-day Life and Every- 
day People 

676 A Child's History of England. . 

F. Dn Boisgohey's Works. 

82 Sealed Lips. 

104 The Coral Pin. 1st half 

104 The Coral Pin. 2d half 

264 Piedouche, a French Detective. 
328 Babiole, the Pretty Milliner. 

First half 

328 Babiole, the Pretty Milliner. 

Second half 

453 The Lottery Ticket. 

475 The Prima Donna's Husband. . 

522 Zig-Zag, the Clown ; or, Steel 

Gauntlets, .... 

523 The Consequences of a Duel. A 

Parisian Romance .',.'.' 



648 The Angel of the Bells 30 

697 The Pretty Jailer. 1st half. ... 20 

697 The Pretty Jailer. 2d half 20 

699 The Sculptor's Daughter. 1st 

half 20 

699 The Sculptor's Daughter. 2d 

half 20 

"The Duchess's" Works. 

2 Molly Bawn. 20 

6 Portia 20 

14 Airj' Fairy Lilian 10 

16 Phyllis 20 

25 Mrs. Geoffrey 20 

29 Beauty's Daughters 10 

30 Faith and Uuf aith 20 

118 Loys, Lord Berresford, and 

Eric Dering 10 

119 Monica, and A Rose Distill'd. . . 10 

123 Sweet is True Love 10 

129 Rossmoyne 10 

134 The Witching Hour, and Other 

Stories 10 

136 "That Last Rehearsal," and 

Other Stories 10 

166 Moonshine and Marguerites — 10 

171 Fortune's Wheel 10 

284 Doris .• 10 

312 A Week in Killarney 10 

342 The Baby, and One New Year's 

Eve 10 

390 Mildred Trevanion 10 

404 In Durance Vile, and Other 

Stories 

486 Dick's Sweetheart 

494 A Maiden All Forlorn, and Bar- 
bara 

517 A Passive Crime, and Other 

Stories 10 

541 " As It Fell Upon a Day." 10 

733 Lady Branksmere 20 



10 



10 



Alexander Dumas's Works. 

55 The Three Guardsmen 

75 Twenty Years After 

259 The Bride of Monte-Cristo. A 
Sequel to "The Count of 
Monte-Cristo". 

262 The Count of Monte-Cristo. 
Part I 

262 The Count of Monte-Cristo. 
Part II ••...• •• 

717 Beau Tancrede; or, The Mar- 
riage Verdict. 

George Eliot's Works. 

3 The Mill on the Floss 

36 Adam Bede.. -■■• 

31 Middlemarch. 1st half. 

31 Middlemarch. 2d half... 

34 Daniel Deronda. 1st half 

34 Daniel Deronda. 2d half 

42 Romola ......... 

693 Felix Holt, the Radical 

707 Silas Marner: The Weaver 

Raveloe 

728 Janet's Repentance 



of 



10 



20 



20 

20 
20 
20 
20 
20 
20 
20 

10 
10 



<& 



THE SEASIDE L1BEAMT. -Pocket Edition. 



B. Li. Farjeon's Works. 

179 Little Make- Believe 

573 Love's Harvest 

607 Self-Doomed 

616 The Sacred Nugget 

657 Christinas Angel 

G, Manville Fenn's Works, 

193 The Rosery Folk 

558 Poverty Corner 

587 The Parson o' Dumford 

609 The Dark House 

Octave Feuillet's Works, 
66 The Romance of a Poor Young 

Man 

386 Led Astray ; or, " La Petite 

Comtesse " 

'Mrs. Forrester's Works. 

80 June 

280 Omnia Vanitas. A Tale of So- 
ciety 

484 Although He Was a Lord, and 

Other Tales 

715 I Have Lived and Loved 

721 Dolores 

721 My Lord and My Lady 

726 My Hero 

727 Fair Women 

729 Mignon 

732 From Olympus to Hades 

734 Viva 

736 Roy and Viola , 

740 Rhona 

744 Diana Carew ; or, For a Wom- 
an's Sake 

Jessie Fothergill's Works. 

314 Peril 

572 Healey 



R. E. Fraucillon's Works. 

135 A Great Heiress: A Fortune 

in Seven Checks 10 

319 Face to Face : A Fact in Seven 

Fables 10 

360 Ropes of Sand 20 

656 The Golden Flood. By R. E. 

Francillon and Wm. Senior.. 10 
656 The Golden Flood. By R. E. 

Francillon and Wm. Senior.. 10 

Einilc Gaborian's Works. 

7 File No. 113 20 

12 Other People's Money 20 

20 Within an Inch of His Life. . . . 20 

26 Monsieur Lecoq. Vol 1 20 

26 Monsieur Lecoq. Vol. II 20 

33 The Clique of Gold 10 

38 The Widow Lerouge 20 

43 The Mystery of Orcival 20 

144 Promises of Marriage 10 

Charles Gibbon's Works. 

64 A Maiden Fair 10 

317 By Mead and Stream 20 

Miss Grant's Works. 

222 The Sun-Maid 20 

555 Cara Roma 20 



.—^—- __i5> 



Arthur GriOiths's Works. 

614 No. 99 10 

680 Fast and Loose 20 

Thomas Hardy's Works. 
139 The Romantic Adventures of 

a Milkmaid 10 

530 A Pair of Blue Eyes 20 

690 Far From the Madding Crowd. 20 
John B. Har wood's Works. 

143 One False, Both Fair 20 

358 Within the Clasp 20 

Mary Cecil Hay's Works. 

65 Back to the Old Home 10 

72 Old Ms^ddelton's Money 20 

196 Hidden Perils 10 

197 For Her Dear Sake 20 

224 The Arundel Motto 20 

281 The Squire's Legacy 20 

290 Nora's Love Test 20 

408 Lester's Secret 20 

678 Dorothy's Venture 20 

716 Victor and Vanquished 20 

Tighe Hopkins's Works. 

509 Nell Haffenden 20 

714 'Twist Love and Duty 20 

Works by the Author of "Judith 
Wynne." 

332 Judith Wynne 20 

506 Lady Lovelace 20 

William H, G. Kingston's Works. 
117 A Tale of the Shore and Ocean. 20 
133 Peter the Whaler 10 

Charles Eever's Works. 

191 Harry Lorrequer 20 

212 Charles O'Malley, the Irish Dra- 
goon. First half 20 

212 Charles O'Malley. the Irish Dra- 
goon. Second half 20 

243 Tom Burke of "Ours." First 

half 20 

243 Tom Burke of " Ours." Sec- 
ond half 20 

Mary Ldnskill's Works. 

473 A Lost Son 20 

620 Between the Heather and the 

Northern Sea 20 

Samuel Lover's Works. 

6G3 Handy Andy 20 

664 Rory O'More 20 

Sir E. Bulwer Liytton's Works. 

40 The Last Days of Pompeii 20 

83 A Strange Story 20 

90 Ernest Maltravers 20 

130 The Last of the Barons. First 

half 20 

130 The Last of the Barons. Sec- 
ond half 20 

162 Eugene Aram 20 

164 Leila; or. The Siege of Grenada 10 
650 Alice; or, The Mysteries. (A Se- 
quel to " Ernest Maltravers ") 20 
720 Paul Clifford 20 



TEE SEASIDE LIBRABY.— Pocket Edition. 



George Macdonald's Works. 

282 Donal Grant 20 

325 The Portent 10 

326 Phantastes. A Faerie Romance 

for Men and Women 10 

722 What's Mine's Mine 20 

Florence Marryat's Works. 

159 A Moment of Madness, and 

Other Stories 10 

183 Old Contrairy, and Other 

Stories 10 

208 The Ghost of Charlotte Cray, 

and Other Stories 10 

276 Under the Lilies and Roses 10 

444 The Heart of Jane Warner 20 

449 Peeress and Player 20 

689 The Heir Presumptive 20 

Captain Marryat's Works. 

88 The Privateersman 20 

272 The Little Savage 10 

Helen B. Mathers' s Works. 

13 Eyre's Acquittal 10 

221 Comin' Thro' the Rye 20 

438 Found Out 10 

535 Murder or Manslaughter? 10 

673 Story of a Sin 20 

713 "Cherry Ripe" 20 

Justin McCarthy's Works. 

121 Maid of Athens 20 

602 Camiola 20 

685 England Under Gladstone. 

1880—1885....... 20 

747 Our Sensation Novel. Edited 

by Justin H. McCarthy, M.P. . 10 
Mrs, Alex. McVeigh Miller's 
Works. 

267 Laurel Vane; or, The Girls' 

Conspiracy 20 

268 Lady Gay's Pride; or, The 

Miser's Treasure 20 

269 Lancaster's Choice 20 

316 Sworn to Silence; or, Aline 

Rodney's Secret 20 

Jean Middlemas's Works. 

155 Lady Muriel's Secret 20 

639 Silvermead 20 

Alan Muir's Works. 

172 " Golden Girls " 20 

346 Tumbledown Farm 10 

Miss Mulock's Works. 

11 John Halifax, Gentleman 20 

245 Miss Tommy. 10 

David Christie Murray's Works. 

58 By the Gate of the Sea 10 

195 "The Way of the World " 20 

320 A Bit of Human Nature 10 

661 Rainbow Gold 20 

674 First Person Singular 20 

691 Valentine Strange 20 

695 Hearts: Queen, Knave, and 

Deuce 20 

698 A Life's Atonement .20 

737 Aunt Rachel 10 



Works by the author of "My 
Ducats and My Daughter." 

376 The Crime of Christmas Day. 10 
596 My Ducats and My Daughter. . . 20 

W. E. Harris's Works. 

184 ThirlbyHall.... 20 

277 A Man of His Word 10 

355 That Terrible Man 10 

500 Adrian Vidal. 20 

Laureuce Oliphant's Works. 

47 Altiora Peto .20 

537 Piccadilly 10 



Mrs. Oliphant's Works. 

A Little Pilgrim 10 

Salem Chapel 20 

The Minister's Wife 30 

The Prodigals, and Their In- 
heritance 10 

Memoirs and Resolutions of 
Adam Graeme of Mossgray, 
including some Chronicles of 

the Borough of Fendie 20 

Madam 20 

The House on the Moor 20 

John 20 

Lucy Crof ton , 10 

Margaret Maitland 20 

Magdalen Hepburn : A Story of 

the Scottish Reformation 20 

Lilliesleaf ; or, Passages in the 
Life of Mrs. Margaret Mait- 
land of Sunnyside 20 

Old Lady Mary 10 

The Davs of My Life 20 

At His Gates 20 

The Perpetual Curate 20 

Harry Muir 20 

Agnes. 1st half 20 

Agnes. 2d half 20 

Innocent. 1st half 20 

Innocent. 2d half 20 

Ombra 20 

Oliver's Bride 10 

The Open Door, and The Por- 
trait 10 

A Country Gentleman 20 

A House Divided Against Itself 20 
The Greatest Heiress in England 20 

" Ouida's " Works. 



Under Two Flags 

Wanda, Countess von Szalras. . 

Moths 

Afternoon and Other Sketches. 

Friendship 

Princess Napraxine 

Pascarel 

Signa , 

A Rainy June 

Othmar 

Don Gesualdo 

In Maremma. First half 

In Maremma. Second half. . . . 



(6) 



THE SEASIDE LIBRARY.— Pocket Edition. 



James Payn's Works. 

48 Thicker Than Water 20 

186 The Canon's Ward 20 

343 The Talk of the Town 20 

577 In Peril and Privation 10 

589 The Luck of the Darrells 20 

Miss Jane Porter's Works. 

660 The Scottish Chiefs. 1st half.. 20 

660 The Scottish Chiefs. 2d half.. 20 

696 Thaddeus of Warsaw 20 

Cecil Power's Works. 

336 Philistia 20 

611 Babylon 20 

Mrs. Campbell Praed's Works. 

428 Zero: A Story of Monte-Carlo. 10 
477 Affinities 10 

Eleanor C. Price's Works. 

173 The Foreigners 20 

331 Gerald 20 

Charles Reade's Works. 

46 Very Hard Cash 20 

98 A Woman-Hater 20 

206 The Picture, and Jack of All 

Trades 10 

210 Readiana: Comments on Cur- 
rent Events 10 

213 A Terrible Temptation 20 

214 Put Yourself in His Place 20 

216 Foul Play 20 

231 Griffith Gaunt; or, Jealousy... 20 

232 Love and Money ; or, A Perilous 

Secret 10 

235 "It is Never Too Late to 
Mend." A Matter-of-Fact Ro- 
mance 20 

Mrs. J. H. Riddell's Works. 

71 A Struggle for Fame 20 

593 Berna Boyle 20 

"Rita's" Works. 

252 A Sinless Secret 10 

446 Dame Durden 20 

598 " Corinna." A Study 10 

617 Like Dian's Kiss 20 

F. W. Robinson's Works. 

157 Millv'sHero 20 

217 TheMan She Cared For 20 

261 A Fair Maid 20 

455 Lazarus in London 20 

590 The Courting of Mary Smith. . . 20 

W. Clark Russell's Works. 

85 A Sea Queen 20 

109 Little Loo 20 

180 Round the Gallev Fire 10 

209 John Holds worth. Chief Mate. . 10 

223 A Sailor's Sweetheart 20 

592 A Strange Voyage 20 

682 In the Middle Watch. Sea 

Stories 20 

743 Jack's Courtship. 1st half. ... 20 

743 Jack's Courtship. 2d half 20 

(7) 



Sir Walter Scott's Works. 

98 Ivauhoe 20 

201 The Monastery 20 

202 The Abbot. (Sequel to "The 
Monastery ") 20 

353 The Black Dwarf, and A Le- 
gend of Montrose 20 

362 The Bride of Lammermoor. ... 20 

363 The Surgeons Daughter 10 

364 Castle Dangerous 10 

391 The Heart of Mid-Lothian 20 

392 Peveril of the Peak 20 

393 The Pirate 20 

401 Waverley 20 

417 The Fair Maid of Perth ; or, St. 
Valentine's Day 20 

418 St. Ronan's Well 20 

463 Redgauntlet. A Tale of the 

Eighteenth Century 20 

507 Chronicles of the Canongate, 
and Other Stories 10 

William Sime's Works. 

429 Boulderstone ; or, New Men and 

Old Populations 10 

580 The Red Route 20 

597 Haco the Dreamer 10 

649 Cradle and Spade 20 

Hawley Smart's Works. 

348 From Post to Finish. A Racing 

Romance 20 

367 Tie and Trick 20 

550 Struck Down 10 

Frank E. Smedley's Works. 

333 Frank Fairlegrh; or, Scenes 
from the Life of a Private 
Pupil 20 

562 Lewis Arundel; or, The Rail- 
road of Life 20 

T. W. Speight's Works. 

150 For Himself Alone 10 

653 A Barren Title 10 

Robert Louis Stevenson's Works. 

686 Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and 

Mr. Hyde 10 

704 Prince Otto 10 

Julian Sturgis's Works. 

405 My Friends and I. Edited by 

Julian Sturgis 10 

694 John Maidment 20 

Eugene Sue's Works. 

270 The Wandering Jew. Part I... 20 

270 The Wandering Jew. Part H.. 20 

271 The Mysteries of Paris. Part I. 20 
271 The Mysteries of Paris. PartH. 20 

George Temple's Works. 

599 Lancelot Ward, M.P 10 

642 Britta 10 



THE SEASIDE LIBRARY. -Pocket Edition. 



William M. Thackeray's Works. 

27 Vanity Fair 20 

165 The History of Henry Esmond. 20 

464 The Newcomes. Part 1 20 

464 The Newcomes. Part II 20 

531 The Prime Minister (1st half).. 20 
531 The Prime Minister (2d halt").. 20 
670 The Rose and the Ring. Illus- 
trated 10 

Annie Thomas's Works. 

141 She Loved Him ! .'. 10 

142 Jenifer 20 

565 No Medium 10 

Anthony Trollope's Works. 



33 



147 

200 
531 
531 
621 
622 
667 
700 
700 



The Land Leaguers 20 

Anthony Trollope's Autobiog- 
raphy 20 

Rachel Ray 20 

An Old Man's Love 10 

The Prime Minister. 1st half.. 20 
The Prime Minister. 2d"half. . . 20 

The Warden 10 

Harry Heathcote of Gang-oil. . . 10 
The Golden Lion of Granpere. . 20 

Ralph the Heir. 1st half 20 

Ralph the Heir. 2d half 20 



Margaret Veley's Works, 



298 Mitchelhurst Place. 
586 "ForPercival".... 



Jules Verne's Works. 

87 Dick Sand; or, A Captain at 
Fifteen 20 

100 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas. 20 

368 The Southern Star ; or, the Dia- 
mond Land . 20 

395 The Archipelago on Fire 10 

578 Mathias Sandorf. Illustrated. 

Part 1 10 

578 Mathias Sandorf. Illustrated. 

Part II 10 

578 Mathias Sandorf. Illustrated. 

Part III 20 

659 The Waif of the " Cynthia "... 20 

!L. B. Walford's Works. 

241 The Baby's Grandmother 10 

256 Mr. Smith : A Part of His Life. 20 

258 Cousins 20 

658 The History of a Week 10 

F. Warden's Works. 

192 At the World's Mercy 20 

248 The House on the Marsh. ...... 10 

286 Deldee ; or, The Iron Hand .... 20 

482 A Vagrant Wife 20 

556 A Prince of Darkness 20 



E. Werner's Works. 

327 Raymond's Atonement 

540 AtaHigh Price...,., 



(8) 



(±.'3. Whyte-Melville's Works. 

409 Roy's Wife 20 

451 Market Harborough, and Inside 

the Bar 20 

John Strange Winter's Works. 

492 Mignon ; or, Booties' Baby. Il- 
lustrated 10 

600 Houp-La. Illustrated 10 

638 In Quarters with the 25th (The 

Black Horse) Dragoons 10 

688 A Man of Honor. Illustrated.. 10 
746 Cavalry Life; or, Sketches and 

Stories in Barracks and Out. . 20 

Mrs. Henry Wood's' Works. 

8 East Lynne. 20 

255 The Mystery 20 

277 The Surgeon's Daughters 10 

508 The Unholy Wish 10 

513 Helen Whitney's Wedding, and 

Other Tales 10 

514 The Mystery of Jessy Page, and 

Other Tales 10 

610 The Story of Dorothy Grape, 

and Other Tales 10 

Charlotte M. Yonge's Works. 

247 The Armourer's Prentices 10 

275 The Three Brides 10 

535 Henrietta's Wish. A Tale 10 

563 The Two Sides of the Shield.. . . 20 
640 Nuttie's Father '. . 20 

665 The Dove in the Eagle's Nest. . 20 

666 My Young Alcides : A Faded 

Photograph 20 

739 The Caged Lion 20 

742 Love and Life 20 

Miscellaneous. 

53 The Story of Ida. Francesca. . 10 
61 Charlotte Temple. Mrs. Row- 
son 10 

99 Barbara's History. Amelia B. 

Edwards..., 20 

103 Rose Fleming. Dora Russell. . 10 
105 A Noble Wife- John Saunders 20 

111 The Little School-master Mark. 

J. H. Shorthouse 10 

112 The Waters of Marah. John 

Hill 20 

113 Mrs. Carr's Companion. M. G. 

Wightwick 10 

114 Some of Our Girls. Mrs. C. J. 

Eiloart 20 

115 Diamond Cut Diamond. T. 

Adolphus Trollope 10 

120 Tom Brown's School Days at 

Rugby. Thomas Hughes — 20 
122 lone Stewart. Mrs. E. Lynn 

Linton 20 

127 Adrian Bright. Mrs. Caddy .... 20 
149 The Captain's Daughter. From 

the Russian of Pushkin 10 

151 The Ducie Diamonds. C.Blath- 

erwick ..,...,,...,,..,,,, 10 



TEE SEASIDE LIBRARY.— Focket Edition. 



185 
187 



198 



218 
219 



242 
253 

257 



274 



279 



311 
813 
323 



834 



Miscellaneous— Continued. 

"For a Dream's Sake." Mrs. 
Herbert Martin 20 

The Starling. Norman Mac- 
leod, D.D ...: 10 

Her Gentle Deeds. Sarah Tyt- 
ler 10 

The Lady of Lyons. Founded 
on the Play of that title by 
Lord Lytton 10 

Winifred Power. Joyce Dar- 
rell 20 

A Great Treason. Mary Hop- 
pus 30 

Under a Ban. Mrs. Lodge 20 

AnJ April Day. Philippa Prit- 
tie Jephson 10 

More Leaves from the Journal 
of a Life in the Highlands. 
Queen Victoria 10 

The Millionaire 20 

Dita. Lady Margaret Majendie 10 

The Midnight Sun. Fredrika 
Bremer 10 

A Husband's Story 10 

John Bull and His Island. Mas 
O'Rell 10 

Agnes Sorel. G. P. R. James. . 20 

Lady Clare : or, The Master of 
the Forges. From French of 
Georges Olmet 10 

The Two Orphans. D'Ennery. 10 

The Amazon. Carl Vosmaer . . 10 

Beyond Recall. Adeline Ser- 
geant 10 

The Water-Babies. Rev. Chas. 
Kingsley 10 

Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse, 
Princess of Great Britain and 
Ireland. Biographical Sketch 
and Letters 10 

Little Goldie : A Story of Wom- 
an's Love. Mrs. Sumner Hay- 
den 20 

The Gambler's Wife 20 

John Bull's Neighbor in Her 
True Light. A c - Brutal Sax- 
on " 10 

Two Years Before the Mast. R. 
H. Dana, Jr 20 

The Lover's Creed. Mrs. Cash- 
el Hoey 20 

A Willful Maid 20 

The Polish Jew. (Translated 
from the French by Caroline 
A. Merighi.) Erckmann-Chat- 
rian 10 

May Blossom ; or, Between Two 
Loves. Margaret Lee 20 

A Marriage of Convenience. 
Harriett Jay 10 

The White Witch 20 

The Family Difficulty. Sarah 
Doudney 10 

Under Which King? Compton 
Reade 20 

Madolin Rivers; or, The Little 
' Beauty of Red Oak Seminary. 
Laura Jean Libbey 20 



347 As Avon Flows. Henry Scott 

Vince 20 

350 Diana of the Crossways. George 

Meredith .' 10 

352 At Any Cost. Edward Garrett. 10 

354 The Lottery of Life. A Story 
of New York Twenty Years 

Ago. John Brougham 20 

355 The Princess Dagomar of Po- 
land. Heinrich Felbermann. 10 

356 A Good Hater. Frederick Bovle 20 

365 George Cliristy: or, The For- 
tunes of a Minstrel. Tony 

Pastor 20 

366 The Mvsterious Hunter; or, 
The Man of Death. Capt. L. 
C. Carleton 20 

369 Miss Bretherton. Mrs. Hum- 
phry Ward 10 

374 The Dead Man's Secret. Dr. 

Jupiter Paeon 20 

381 The Red Cardinal. -Frances 
Elliot 10 

382 Three Sisters. Elsa D'Esterre- 
Keeling 10 

383 Introduced to Society. Hamil- 
ton Aide 10 

387 The Secret of the Cliffs. Char- 
lotte French 20 

389 Ichabod. A Portrait. Bertha 

Thomas 10 

399 Miss Brown. Vernon Lee 20 

403 An Euglish Squire. C. R. Cole- 
ridge 20 

406 The Merchant's Clerk. Samuel 
Warren 10 

407 Tylney Hall. Thomas Hood. . . 20 
4^6 Venus's Doves. Ida Ashworth 

Taylor 20 

430 A Bitter Reckoning. Author 

of "By Crooked Paths".... 10 
432 The Witch's Head. H. Rider 

Haggard 20 

435 Klytia : A Story of Heidelberg 
Castle. George Taylor 20 

436 Stella. Fanny Lewald SO 

441 A Sea Change. Flora L. Shaw. 20 

442 Ranthorpe. George Henry 
Lewes 20 

443 The Bachelor of the Albany. . . 10 

457 The Russians at the Gates of 
Herat. Charles Marvin 10 

458 A Week of Passion; or, The 
Dilemma of Mr. George Bar- 
ton the Younger. Edward 
Jenkins 20 

462 Alice's Adventures in Wonder- 
land. By Lewis Carroll. 
With forty-two illustrations 

by John Tenniel 20 

468 The Fortunes, Good and Bad, 
of a Sewing-Girl. Charlotte 

M. Stanley 10 

474 Serapis. An Historical Novel. 

Geofge Ebers 20 

479 Louisa. Katharine S. Macquoid 20 

483 Betwixt My Love and Me 10 

485 Tinted Vapours. J. Maclaren 

Cobban ■ JO 



TEE SEASIDE LIBRARY.— Pocket Edition. 



491 

493 

501 

510 

512 
504 

505 

509 
518 
519 



612 



643 
644 



Miscellaneous— Continued. 

Society in London. A Foreign 

Resident 10 

Colonel Enderby's Wife. Lucas 

Malet 20 

Mr. Butler's Ward. F. Mabel 

Robinson 20 

A Mad Love. Author of " Lover 

and Lord " 10 

The Waters of Hercules 20 

Curly : An Actor's Story. John 

Coleman 10 

The Society of London. Count 

Paul Vasili 10 

Nell Haffenden. Tighe Hopkins 20 

The Hidden Sin 20 

James Gordon's Wife 20 

Madame De Presnel. E. Fran- 
ces Poynter 20 

Arden Court. Barbara Graham 20 
Dissolving Views. By Mrs. An- 
drew Lang 10 

Vida's Story. By the author of 

" Guilty Without Crime " . . . . 10 
Mrs. Keith's Crime. A Novel . . 10 

Hazel Kirke. Marie Walsh 20 

The Royal Highlanders ; or, 

The Black Watch in Egypt. 

James Grant 20 

Paul Crew's Story. Alice Co- 

myns Carr 10 

The Finger of Fate. Captain 

Mayne Reid 20 

The Betrothed. (I Promessi 

Sposi.) Allessandro Manzoni 20 
Lucia, Hugh and Another. Mrs. 

J. HNeedell 20 

Victory Deane. Cecil Griffith . . 20 

Mixed Motives 10 

A North Country Maid. Mrs. 

H. Lovett Cameron 20 

Lancelot Ward, M.P. George 

Temple 10 

My Wife's Niece. By the author 

of " Dr. Edith Romney " 20 

Primus in Indis. M. J. Colqu- 

houn 10 

Wedded Hands. Author of 

" My Lady's Folly " 20 

The Unforeseen. Alice O'Han- 

lon 20 

What's His Offence? 20 

The Rabbi's Spell. Stuart C. 

Cumberland 10 

The Sketch-Book of Geoffrey 

Crayon, Gent. Washington 

Irving 20 

A Girton Girl. Mrs. Annie Ed- 
wards 20 



652 The Lady with the Rubies. E. 

Marlitt 20 

654 " Us." An Old-fashioned Story. 

Mrs. Molesworth 10 

662 The Mystery of Allan Grale. 

Isabella Fy vie Mayo 20 

668 Half -Way. An Anglo-French 

Romance 20 

669 The Philosoohy of Whist. By 

William Pole 20 

675 Mrs. Dymond. Miss Thackeray 20 
679 Where Two Ways Meet. Sarah 

Doudney 10 

681 A Singer's Story. May Laffan. 10 

683 The Bachelor Vicar of New- 

forth. Mrs. J. Harcourt-Roe. 20 

684 Last Days at Apswich 10 

692 The Mikado, and Other Comic 

Operas. Written by W. S. 
Gilbert. Composed by Arthur 
Sullivan 20 

705 The Woman I Loved, and the 

Woman Who Loved Me. By 
Isa Blagden 10 

706 A Crimson Stain. By Annie 

Bradshaw 10 

708 Ormond. By Maria Edgeworth 3f 

709 Zenobia; or. The Fall of Pal- 

myra. By William Ware. 
1st half 20 

709 Zenobia; or, The Fall of Pal- 
myra. By William Ware. 
2d half 

712 For Maimie's Sake. By Grant 20 
Allen 20 

718 Unfairly Won. By Mrs. Power 

O'Donoghue 20 

719 Childe Harold's Pilgrimage. By 

Lord Byron Iff 

723 Mauleverer's Millions. By T. 

Wemyss Reid 20 

785 My Ten Years' Imprisonment. 

By Silvio Pellico 10 

730 The Autobiography of Benja- 

min Franklin 10 

731 The Bayou Bride. By Mrs. Mary 

E. Bryan 20 

735 Until the Day Breaks. By 

Emily Spender 20 

738 In the Golden Days. By Edna 

Lyall 90 

748 Hurrish: A Study. By the 

Hon. Emily Lawless 20 

749 Lord Vanecourt's Daughter. By 

Mabel Collins 20 

757 Love's Martyr. By Laurence 

Alma Tadema 10 

759 In Shallow Waters. By Annie 

Armitt 20 



The foregoing works, contained in The Seaside Library, Pocket Edition, 
are for sale by all newsdealers, or will be sent to any address, postage free, on 
receipt of price. Parties ordering by mail will please order by numbers. Ad- 

GEORGE MUNRO, 
MUNRO'S PUBLISHING HOUSE, 

P. O. Sox 375i. 17 to 27 Vandewater Street, N. Y. 

(10) 



THE SEASIDE LIBRARY.-Pocket Edition. 

LATEST ISSUES: 

NO. PRICK. 

669 Pole on Whist 20 

737 Aunt Rachel. By David Christie 

Murray 10 

738 In the Golden Days. By Edna 

Lyall 20 

739 The Caged Lion. By Charlotte 

M. Yonge 20 

740 Rhona. By Mrs. Forrester .... 20 

741 The Heiress of Hilldrop; or, 

The Romance of a Young 
Girl. By Charlotte M. Braeme, 
author of " Dora Thome ".. . 20 

742 Love and Life. By Charlotte 

M. Yonge 20 

743 Jacks Courtship. By W. Clark 

Russell. 1st half 20 

743 Jack's Courtship. By W. Clark 

Russell. 2d half 20 

744 Diana Carew; or, For a Wom- 

an's Sake. By Mrs. Forrester 20 

745 For Another's Sin; or, A Strug- 

gle for Love. By Charlotte M. 
Braeme, author of "Dora 
Thorne" 20 

746 Cavalry Life ; or, Sketches and 

Stories in Barracks and Out. 
By J. S. Winter 20 

747 Our Sensation Novel. Edited 

by Justin H. McCarthy, M.P.. 10 

748 Hurrish : A Study. By the 

Hon. Emily Lawless 20 

749 Lord Vanecourt's Daughter. By 

MabelCollins 20 

V50 An Old Story of My Farming 
Days. By Fritz Reuter. First 
half 20 

750 An Old Story of My Farming 

Days. By Fritz Reuter. Second 
half 20 

752 Jackanapes, and Other Stories. 

By Juliana Horatia Ewing. . 10 

753 King Solomon's Mines. By H. 

Rider Haggard 20 

754 How to be Happy Though Mar- 

ried. By a Graduate in the 
University of Matrimony 20 

755 Margery Daw. A Novel 20 

756 The Strange Adventuresof Cap- 

tain Dangerous. A Narrative 
in Pl.iin English. Attempted 
by George Augustus Sala 20 

757 Love's Martyr. By Laurence 

Alma Tadema 10 

758 "Good-bye, Sweetheart!" By 

Rhoda Broughton 20 

759 In Shallow Waters. By Annie 

Armitt 20 

760 Aurelian ; or, Rome in the Third 

Century. By William Ware. . 20 

The foregoing works, contained in The Seaside Library, Pocket Edition, 
are for sale by all newsdealers, or will be sent to any address, postage free, on 
receipt of price. Parties ordering by mail will please order by nuvibers. Ad- 

GEOKGE MUNBO, 



NO. PRICE 

761 Will Weatherhelm. By Wm. 

H.G.Kingston 20 

762 Impressions of Theophrastus 

Such. By George Eliot 10 

763 The Midshipman, Marmaduke 

Merry. By Wm. H. G. Kingston 20 

764 The Evil Genius. By Wilkie 

Collins 20 

765 Not Wisely, But Too Well. By 

Rhoda Broughton 20 

766 No. XIII; or, the Story of the 

Lost Vestal. By Emma Mar- 
shall 10 

767 Joan. By Rhoda Broughton ... 20 

768 Red as a Rose is She. By Rhoda 

Broughton 20 

769 Cometh Up as a Flower. By 

Rhoda Broughton 20 

770 The Castle of Otranto. By 

Horace Walpole 10 

771 A Mental Struggle. By " The 

Duchess" 20 

772 Gascoyne, the Sandal -Wood 

Trader. By R. M. Ballantyne 20 

773 The Mark of Cain. By Andrew 

Lang 10 

774 The Life and Travels of Mungo 

Park 10 

775 The Three Clerks. By Anthony 

Trollope 20 

776 Pere Goriot. By H. De Balzac. 20 

777 The Voyages and Travels of Sir 

John Maundeville, Kt 10 

778 Society's Verdict. By the Author 

of " My Marriage " 20 

779 Doom! An Atlantic Episode. 

By Justin H. McCarthy, M.P. 10 

780 Rare Pale Margaret. By author 

of " What's His Offence?" .... 20 

781 The Secret Dispatch. By James 

Grant 10 

782 The Closed Door. By F. Du 

Boisgobev. 1st half., 20 

782 The Closed Door. By F. Du 

Boisgobey. 2d half 20 

783 Chantry House. By Charlotte 

M. Yonge. ... 20 

785 The Haunted Chamber. By 

" The Duchess " 10 

787 Court Royal. A Story of Cross 

Currents. By S. Baring-Gould 20 
790 The Chaplet of Pearls ; or. The 

White and Black Ribaumont. 

Charlotte M. Yonge. 1st half 20 
790 The Chaplet of Pearls : or, The 

White and Black Ribaumont. 

Charlotte M. Yonge. 2d half 20 



P. O. Box 3751. 



MUNRO'S PUBLISHING HOUSE, 

17 to 27 Vandewater Street, N. Y. 




ASpegiamfokInfams 



The New York Fashion Bazar. 

THE EEST AMERICAN HOKE MAGAZINE. 

Price 25 Cents per Copy. Subscription Price $3*00 per Year. 



Among its regular contributors are Mary Cecil Hay, "The Duchess," 
author of " Molly Bawn," Lucy Randall Comfort, Charlotte M. Braeme, 
author of " Dora Thome," Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller, Mary E. Bryan, 
author of " Manch," and Florence A. Warden, author of " The House on the 
Marsh." 



COMMENTS OF THE PRESS: 



The New York Fashion Bazar aims 
to give full information of what ladies 
and children should wear, and, from 
the space devoted to the matter, both 
pictorially and descriptively, we would 
suppose it succeeds. There is also a 
considerable amount of miscellaneous 
reading matter, especially of fiction. 
(Published by George Munro, New 
York City. $3.00 a year.)— United 
Presbyterian. 

The New York Fashion Bazar for 
this month, George Munro, publisher, 
is on our table, and an interesting 
number it is to the women of the land 
who have their spring costumes to 
make up. This magazine is standard 
and the best authority on matters of 
fashion.— Baptist Reflector. 

The current number of The New 
York Fashion Bazar, published by 
George Munro, New York, is an illus- 
trated library, as it were, of fashions 
in every branch of human wear. The 
figures, forms, and fittings are almost 
bewildering even to those who possess 
a muck eye to the subject that is so 
widely fascinating. The colored first 
page of the cover is too attractive to 
such people to be resisted. The Fash- 
ion Colored Supplement forms the 
frontispiece to the present number. — 
New England Journal of Agriculture. 

We have received the last number of 
The New York Fashion Bazar, pub- 
lished by George Munro, New York 
City, the yearly subscription of which 
is only $3. Each number has a large 
colored fashion supplement, contain- 
ing New York and Paris fashions, and 
the book is full of illustrations of every 
conceivable article of ladies 1 attire and 
descriptions how to make the same, 
besides serial stories and sketches and 
much miscellaneous matter.— .Maine 
Farmer. 



We have received the last number of 
The New York Fashion Bazar, and at 
a hasty glance we see it is an interest- 
ing magazine. Its fashions are useful 
to those ladies who do their own dress- 
making, or even decide how they shall 
be made, and its stories are fascinat- 
ing. What more can we say? Address 
George Munro, 17 Vandewater Street, 
N. Y.— Worcester [Mass.] Chronicle. 

The New York Fashion Bazar, pub- 
lished by George Munro, is full of fash- 
ions and reading. It seems to be very 
full, and to be well adapted to the end 
sought. The yearly subscription is 
$3.00, or 25 cents a number. It is very 
large, containing seventy-four pages, 
large size. — Wilmington Morning 
Star. 

The New York Fashion Bazar con- 
tains an attractive variety of literary 
entertainments, stories, poems, sketch- 
es, etc., in addition to the display of 
ladies' fashions which are its chief 
study. These are set forth with an 
array of pictures and descriptions 
which should leave nothing to doubt 
regarding the newest styles. The se- 
lection of embroidery patterns offers a 
tempting choice for artistic tastes. 
New York: George Munro. —Home 
Journal. 

The New York Fashion Bazar, with 
supplement, is one of the most inter- 
esting and ornamental periodicals that 
have reached the Herald office. It is 
issued by the publisher of the Fireside. 
Companion and Seaside Library. — 
Chicago Herald. 



The New York Fashion Bazar, pub- 
lished by George Munro, for this month, 
is a marvel of beauty and excellence. 
It is full of entertaining reading, and 
of the newest and most fashionable 
patterns and designs. It must be seen 
to be appreciated.— Church Press. 
The New York Fashion Bazar is for sale by all newsdealers, price 25 cents 
per copy. Subscription price $3.00 per year. Address 

GEORGE MUNRO, Munro's Publishing House, 
P. O. Box 3751. 17 to 27 Vandewater Street, N. Y. 



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